Raised by Darkness
by apple2011
Summary: After years of abuse by his uncle a seven year old Harry Potter is rescued from the Dursleys by a Dementor who senses his pain, Raised in Azkaban with a strange but caring family and new powers how will Harry react to the revelation he is famous, a wizard and has the power to speak to Dementors. Powerful Harry, manipulative Dumbledore, Weasley bashing and Caring Dementors.
1. Chapter 1

Raised by Darkness: Chapter One

The forest was dark now, with thickly woven trees standing together making the slowly setting some practically invisible to its inhabitants, one of these inhabitants was a sobbing boy. He sat in a pile of leaves with tears pouring down his face, his arm bleeding and his face a mass of coloured bruises, he was unnaturally thin and was covered in much to large tattered clothes. This boy was a seven year old Harry Potter, this morning his Uncle decided to spend the day in the forest and with no one to take Harry he reluctantly allowed him to accompany them on the condition he walked behind them because he didn't want people thinking he was related to a freak like him. Dudley brought a toy and dropped it so his Uncle ordered him to go and find it, Harry recalled searching for hours but found nothing and then his Uncle punching him as hard as he could in the face before pushing the boy away and driving off. Harry wondered why he couldn't be treated like Dudley, instead he was locked in a cupboard and only allowed to eat if he didn't show his freakishness. And so he was left in the forest, miles away from privet drive and Harry feared he would never find his way home, then he heard a whisper

"_Someone is here"_ the voice was quiet and slightly feminine, Harry turned around hoping it was his aunt but instead he was hit by a cold wave of energy, he suddenly heard the shouts as he was abused by his uncle and the familiar high cold laugh and the screams of a woman. He shivered as the end of a black cloak flickered behind a tree, Bravely he stood up and wiped his tears

"Who's there?" he stammered his voice shaking, no answer. Harry took a breath and this time felt something in his voice

"Who's there?" he asked, this time his voice was quieter and seemingly laced with another, this time something appeared. A pair of scabbed hands gripped a nearby tree, then a hooded thing appeared. It stood tall and was covered head to toe in a black cloak, it glided a few meters from the floor and Harry could sense it was looking at him, he wanted to run but his feet were like stone as the monster approached, he waited for it to hurt him like uncle Vernon but instead as he felt cold breath on his neck the voice came again

"_You speak our tongue?"_ the voice sounded surprised and Harry opened his eyes

"What's your tongue?" he asked worried he had offended the creature, from behind the hood Harry could feel something was looking at him, then the voice came again  
"_I sense you hurt, what happened" _the voice was filled with concern now and a scabbed skeletal hand was suddenly placed on his wrist.

"My uncle had to punish me for not being good enough at finding things" Harry choked out as the aura around the creature intensified the hurt and upset, then it stopped

"_I'm protecting you from the dementors aura" _the voice told him, Harry looked up at the monster

"What's a Dementor?" he asked feeling better now

"_I am a Dementor and somehow you can hear us, now what's your name"_ the voice was more pleasant now almost motherly and Harry suddenly felt like trusting this creature

"Harry, Harry Potter what's your name?" he replied, the creature paused and Harry was worried he had annoyed the creature he got ready for it to hit him when

_"Lucy my name is Lucy" _the creature answered, Harry looked at Lucy, he had never seen anything like her before and he was both fascinated and terrified

"Nice to meet you Lucy, can you be my friend?" Harry blurted, Lucy seemed taken aback

"_What about your human friends?" _her voice was curious now, Harry looked at the ground

"I don't have any Dudley won't let me" he muttered sadly,

"_Dudley?" _she asked, Harry spent the next few minutes explaining about his family, suddenly he felt the ground shake slightly and this time Lucy sounded angry

"_Where do they live child? Muggles can only see me if I want them to and I think I should have a talk with them"_. Lucy was surprised, she had never met a human who could speak in her tongue and somehow felt instantly attached to the strange boy, the ground was shaking as she became more and more infuriated by what she heard.

"Number four privet drive but don't tell them I told you about what you did or Uncle Vernon might be mad" Harry told her worried, the Dementor Lucy turned her face to him

"_Trust me Harry Potter I will never allow them to harm you again" _she promised "_now take my hand, and take a breath shadow travel is not for the faint hearted". _Harry looked confused

"What's shadow travel?" he asked taking her hand, her hand felt rough and soft at the same time and Harry was shocked to see how closely his hands resembled hers after the many stomping he had endured. Suddenly he felt as if he was melting, he gripped Lucy's hand much tighter as he fell towards the shadows, the second he touched he felt like he was moving a hundred miles an hour, his skin was rippling at the speed and it felt like it wanted to come off, Harry wondered if this is what a rollercoaster felt like, he had seen Dudley go on but the Dursley's never let him join in the fun but he enjoyed this ride a lot. Then he was pulled up by an unseen force and found himself in the living room of Privet drive

"_Now you need some new clothes, where is your room? I think Humans keep clothes there" _Lucy decided, Harry suddenly felt ashamed, he had seen Dudley and his friends go to his room and felt bad as he walked Lucy over to his cupboard, he opened it and immediately choked on the dust.

"_Tell me this is not where you sleep Harry, Azkaban cells are nicer than this" _Lucy asked hovering behind him

"Well My Uncle and Aunt need a room and Dudley needs two for his toys and Aunt Marge needs one for her visits" Harry explained sheepishly, Lucy's hand was now shaking it what Harry assumed was anger.

"_Harry you need a room, you need somewhere nicer than a cupboard to grow" _Lucy told him placing a hand on his shoulder. Suddenly the noise of a car pulling up came from outside

"_Is this them" _Lucy asked bluntly, Harry nodded

"_Ok then, I'll turn off my anti muggle charm"_ Lucy told him,

"Why is it so ruddy cold in here" Uncle Vernon grumbled opening the door, he noticed Harry

"What are you doing here Boy" he growled clenching his fists "You can't even die in a forest right". Harry looked ashamed again when Vernon's eye fell on Lucy who had taken her hood down, underneath she was skeletal and her mouth was in a single gaping hole but other than that there were no visible features

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT" Aunt Petunia shrilled as she and Dudley entered the house, Dudley began cowering behind his mother as Vernon shook his fist

"I'm warning you" he said shakily "If you don't leave I will cause the police". Suddenly Lucy pointed at them and spoke in their minds

_You dare threaten me, _her voice was like a knife as it ripped into their thoughts and the three cried in a mixture of shock and pain

_You abuse this child and you have the nerve to blame him! how dare you _Harry could hear her voice and it hurt his ears so he could only imagine what the Dursley's were feeling inside

"He owes us we took him in" Vernon roared as his head erupted in waves of pain

_You are family, I understand little about humans but I see that your hate for Harry is built in ignorance and fear_ Lucy hissed as the pain grew worse inside them.

"We only took him in because of the letter" Petunia told Lucy in pain and fear at the enraged creature before her

_He is family and any Dementor no matter what is accepted by my kind and you pitiful excuses for humans should be ashamed of what you have done to him, _Lucy was calming slightly as the three Dursley's whined in pain,

"Well who else is going to want him!" Vernon demanded but his voice shrank when he saw the Dementor approach, she studied him for several seconds then spoke

_Me_ Harry gasped at the words and the Dursley's shock was just as evident

"Well ruddy well take him then" Vernon snapped, Lucy looked at him thoughtfully

_Fine I will take him and I will raise him better than you things ever will and if we ever have displeasure of meeting again then I will suck the soul from your body _she retorted.

"Really" Harry asked shocked that this creature he met mere minutes ago was offering to take him away from his abusive relatives. She turned to him

_"Yes Harry, I will take you to a place called Azkaban it's not glamorous but there is very few human's there and none will argue with me, It may be a prison but you are immune to our effect now so you will be able to join me, I will teach you about magic and as much of being a dementor as I can and none of us will ever hurt you" _she spoke to him directly and kindly, Harry erupted in a smile

"Thank you" he said running up and pulling her into a hug like he saw Dudley do with Petunia, for a moment Lucy was shocked she had never been hugged it was not a Dementor thing but she hugged back after a moment. Vernon was on his feet now

"Well get going" he roared, Lucy turned to him and intensified her aura around him, he gulped in fear and cried in pain as she once again spoke into his mind,

_We will, _ he fell to the floor and his gut bounced off giving the impression he was a large ball. Harry laughed but Vernon glared at him, he looked ready to charge when Lucy swooped down and scratched him with clawed fingernails

_Threaten him again I dare you _she shouted as he screamed in pain,

"_Harry get your things" _she told him. Harry raced inside his cupboard, he ignored the clothes but grabbed a few toy knights and a book he had been given on his birthday but a man in a shop, Lucy was even more annoyed at his lack of possessions

_You will never see this boy again if it's the last thing I do_ she vowed hitting the Durlseys with one last mental jolt of pain. Then she took Harry's hand and together they melted back into the shadows.

Harry awoke in a dark room, he sighed: he had a dream where he was rescued by a creature called a dementor and she took him away from the Dursleys, he sighed he wanted to get away more than anything, then he heard a mutter. He laying in a bed, it was thin but comfortable and much better than what he was used to, he looked around to see an open bared door and a black figure nearby. It wasn't a dream

"Lucy?" he called out remembering her name,

"_Harry" _she called gliding into his cell

"It was real?" he asked fearful he would wake up, Lucy went down to his level. He could smell something on her breath but he didn't mention it

"_Yes it was real Harry, this is Azkaban your new home" _she told him. Harry's face fell when he saw men and women huddling in rooms opposite him and most of them didn't have a bed or anything

"_Now it's a prison but the people in here were told sternly if they tried to bully or hurt you they would see a lot more Dementors on this level, and this is maximum security so that scared them" _she assured him placing her scabbed hand on her shoulder. Harry took a moment to view his room, it was dark and straw lined the carpet but unlike the other cells this one had a bed and a damaged looking but ok desk and chair a thin carpet beside the bed. It was bigger than his cupboard and he saw a pile of books on the desk and his toy knights beside them

"_Now there are no humans here so you need to be careful, you can play outside but don't climb on the rocks, There are lots of Dementors who will all be nice to you and if you want to talk to a prisoner you can but if they upset you tell me and never help them get out" _Lucy told Harry sternly who smiled  
"I promise" he told her hoping to please the creature who brought him here.

"_Well Harry welcome to you new home"_


	2. Chapter 2

Raised By Darkness: Chapter Two

The corridors of Azkaban prison were a maze to Harry Potter, each floor a new colour or new people, some spoke to him while others groaned and screamed as he approached. Harry shrugged the last two weeks may have been the best of his life; he was saved from the Dursleys and had an entire tower to explore, some people who talked to him weren't very nice and the Dementors on the floor kept an eye on him, all were nice to him and welcoming. Some prisoners however were very nice and he liked speaking to them, some told him stories of their lives before they came here and others spoke of a dark lord who they said would like Harry in his ranks, he was unsure what it meant but another prisoner didn't like this and said Harry would be with Dumbledore and an order. Lucy was always around, she was in charge of the prison it seemed and was always around to talk to Harry and a few times play with him, though she brought his dinner and breakfast which was normally bread and meat but it was more than Harry was used to and thanked her every time, though as he looked around he wasn't to sure which room he was in, he looked at a dust sign which Lucy told him was only for the Ministry when they inspected the prison, the words said Top level. Shrugging Harry looked around and saw there was a lot more Dementors on this floor, most floated high in the air while others glided around the cells, Harry then noticed a man. He was calmer than the rest and laid back as if relaxing while the aura of the Dementors washed over him

"Hello" Harry called to him, the man suddenly sat bolt upright, he slowly as if scared turned his head around  
"James?" he asked breathing heavily, he shook as he said this

"No I'm Harry Potter but my Dad was called James I think" Harry answered wondering if this person knew his dad

"Harry Potter! no no no I'm seeing things, Your seven and with your relatives" the man choked out

"No, I live here now" Harry said brightly briefly summarising the events of the last two weeks

"Your real" was the reply as if hoping Harry would disappear from this place, Harry looked confused

"I'm Sirius Black" the man said shivering as a Dementor passed by

"The innocent?" Harry questioned remembering overhearing a conversation between Lucy and another Dementor, Sirius looked shocked

"How do you know?" he asked, he had been condemned by all, Remus, Dumbledore, the ministry but this young boy could see through it how

"Lucy and Dora I think her name was, were saying how they knew you were innocent, though Dora said some didn't mind while others did" Harry recalled

"Lucy?" Sirius asked regaining some composure

"She's a Dementor" Harry said calmly as if simply discussing the weather, Sirius was not fully convinced the boy was more than a mental illusion but continued with the conversation

"You can talk to Dementors?" he asked, Harry nodded

"Lucy says one day I'll be able to fly like one too and more" Harry told him proudly beaming

"Well Harry that sound great" Sirius told him not knowing if it was or no

"So why did you call me James and how do you know me?" Harry asked suddenly

"Oh kid please don't ask" came a irritated sleepy voice from the other cell

"Shut up Bella" Sirius hissed, "Well Harry I suppose I'm you godfather". Harry looked thoughtful

"Are you?" he asked not fully understanding the term

"Well it's a long story" Sirius told him

"If you tell him that, Ill open this cell and shut you up" the woman from the other cell warned, Sirius ignored her

"Well it all started I suppose on Platform Nine and three quarters many years ago...

Two Years Later

A nine year old Harry ran down the corridor excitedly, some of the prisoners smiled at the boy whose expanding powers protected them from the Dementors chill if only for a short while, however nothing got in the way of the hyperactive boy as he ran up stairs and through wards, he stopped when he reached the top floor, he took a deep breath and raced down the corridor looking for the right cell.

"Stop right there young man" came a stern female voice, Harry grinned

"Aunt Bella!" he exclaimed running over to her cell, she ruffled his hair affectionately through the bars of the cell

"when did you get back?" she asked, Harry smiled at her

"Just now, Aunt Cissy says hello" he told her, Bella grinned

"My ickle Harrykins is back after a long summer, we should have a party" she declared, Harry giggled, Bellatrix smiled "So your nine now Happy Birthday!" she cried

"Thank you Aunt Bella" Harry thanked warmly, Bellatrix beamed

"That's ok when the Dark Lord returns I will buy you a huge present" she declared, Harry chuckled, he met Bella when Sirius told his story and she told him all about a dark lord she knew and Sirius and her would always argue about him; something that was very entertaining.

"So did you and Draco have fun" Bella asked, Harry nodded

"I did, me and Draco played quidditch and some of his friends came over and we had one big game" he began "Me Draco and Crabbe beat Goyle, Nott and Pansy 300 two 100". Bella smiled proudly ever since her sister visited Harry took an instant shine to her and every summer when Lucy was sent to the ministry for a Dementor inspection he would go to Malfoy manner, something he looked forward to a lot

"Though Goyle said it was cheating when I jumped off by broom to get the snitch" Harry told her sheepishly, ever since he was eight he developed a lot of Dementor traits, the first was flight and Bella stifled a laugh when she remembered watching Lucy chase after Harry for hours as he flew around the fortress "Though Pansy said it was cool".  
"Hey pup" Sirius Black remarked waking up from a brief nap "I thought I heard you voice". Harry ran over to his cell and beamed

"Sirius! how are you" he asked the man, Sirius grinned

"I'm fine pup, how was summer good?" he asked, Harry nodded fiercely

"Good, it's not been nice here without you" Sirius remarked, as his powers developed his influence managed to lessen the effect of the chill something which encouraged a lot more prisoners to be a lot nicer to the boy.

"Well as its your birthday why don't you go down to your room and put your stuff away and then you can come back up here and we can go outside" Sirius suggested brightly

"Oh the dog mentions that again" Bella hissed, Sirius often slipped out with Harry who as far as she knew told no one about his Godfather's dog for, Bella had tried to sneak off but she found the Dementors were not a fan of her plans.

"Ok" Harry decided running down the stairs. He ran to his room, it had been more furnished over the years with Lucy and the other Dementors picking items of furniture whenever they could, the tattered old chair was replaced by a rocking one and the bed had a much thicker quilt

"_Harry"_ came the voice of his guardian as she swooped in to the room  
"Lucy" Harry exclaimed pulling her down for a hug, an experience she still found slightly unnerving but was warming to it

"_Happy Birthday Harry" _she told him pulling back, Harry's eyes widened as she pulled out something. It was roughly wrapped and the paper had claw marks all over it, Harry gasped as she handed it to him and slowly opened it. Lucy had become a mother to him during the last two years, putting him to bed, encouraging him and scolding him, she taught him how to control some of his powers, but a gift was new. He opened it eagerly and found a framed photo, it moved and Harry gasped when he realised who it was

"It's my mum and dad" he stuttered as the pictures waved at him,  
"_I found it in one of the homes we searched, it was stolen I think and I knew it was a gift for you"_ she told him warmly. Harry smiled at her  
"Thank you" he smiled hugging her again. She mentally sighed but hugged back after a second before pulling back  
"_Now it looks like Minister Fudge sent you something_" she gestured to a pile of presents. The year before Fudge has arrived for an inspection along with a red haired man and Lucius Malfoy, all three were shocked by Harry's presence and wanted to take him back to the Dursleys, the translator they brought with them had a severe headache after an enraged Lucy argued with them, after a few long hours she managed to put his memoires in their minds, something they found very unpleasant, the experience was bad enough but after seeing the abuse Fudge began ranting about Dumbldore and the other two for once agreed, it took a few more days but Fudge eventually allowed him to stay in secret as his presence gave hope to the inmates which was useful in the rehabilitation process (well that was the official excuse) but a man came round every two weeks to make sure he was ok and on Christmas Fudge and some other people sent him gifts, today a small pile occupied a desk and after placing Lucy's gift on the desk next to his knights he began opening them

"_Don't forget to read the cards" _Lucy told him, Harry smiled remembering when Bella told him to never read the cards as the presents were more interesting something Sirius agreed with. Fudge sent him a box of Honeydukes chocolate while the Mafloys gave him so magic books and toys, there were some other presents but a big black dog distracted Harry halfway, Lucy sensed the boy she loved like a son flying around outside, she let out a breath as she happily glided out the room.

Ministry Of Magic

Cornelius Fudge was waiting patiently at his desk, in one hand he was drinking a tea while in the other he was reading a file, the file was marked Harry Potter. It had been almost a year now since he decided Harry could stay at Azkaban, he still wondered if he did the right thing but each report said the nine year old had a positive effect on the inmates and Dementors, the boy enjoyed his time and visited his good friends the Mafloys often, the death eaters treated him well surprisingly. Ironic Fudge thought, Dumbledore leader of the light left the boy lad with monsters while Dementors and Death eaters actually raised the boy right, of course no one could know, he could be kicked out of office but he decided to chance it tonight as a man with a long white beard and wrinkled face emerged from his fireplace.

"Dumbledore" he greeted "tea?" The old man shook his head

"Apologies Cornelius but I must make this meeting quick" Dumbledore told him

"Well then, I have some questions about Harry Potter" Fudge announced told him, a flicker of surprise travelled across Dumbledore's face  
"What about him?" he asked, Fudge frowned

"Are you aware he has not lived in privet drive for two years!" he demanded,

"What!" Dumbledore asked, Fudge glared at him

"Or he was removed after suffering abuse at the hands of the muggles you said could shelter him?" Fudge continued

"I must insist he return" the old man interrupted, Fudge glared

"Out of the question? the boy is safe now and you will not know of his location? I want to ask why you never checked on him ever!" he hissed angrily, Dumbledore ignored him

"I must know where he is what if a death eater finds him?" he demanded

"He is protected Albus and I will not leave the boy to you after all he has been through" Fudge told him "now you will send any Hogwarts mail to be and I will give it to him. He is safe where he is and I do not want you to be in contact with him when you send his letter year after next". Dumbledore looked surprised

"What?" he asked

"You heard me, also I want a official report on why you left him there without Ministry supervision by the end of the week" Fudge demanded. Dumbledore spluttered something and left in a huff and Fudge couldn't help feel some justice after what he had seen happen to Harry Potter.


	3. Chapter 3

Raised by Darkness: Chapter Three

Two Years Later

"_He's growing up" _Lucy and a fellow Dementor flew side by side, the boy in question was tucked up asleep in bed while the Dementors patrolled

"_I know" _Lucy replied with what sounded like sadness "_But he's almost eleven and I expect and owl soon"_. The other Dementor stopped and looked inside his room  
"_I can't believe its the same confused boy you brought here four years ago, and by the next year despite all the influence from the Death Eaters" _it said

_"I still remember when I first met him Dora, that poor boy in the forest, scared and confused. I always wonder if I did the right thing" _Lucy replied, the other Dementor stopped

"_And what was the alternative, grow up in fear and be someone so desperate for love they can be moulded by anyone, No Lucy no matter the problems with growing up in a prison, you made him stronger he found out about the Dementor within, he can fly, manipulate emotions, sense minds and read them at eleven, think of him in ten years or twenty" _The Dementor named Dora told her sternly,

"_I suppose, but who would need to place him with abusers and more importantly why would they do it? he saved us all from Voldemort including us, we only supported him because of the way we were regarded" _Lucy questioned. Dora shook her head

"_We will know soon, and anyway today you and Harry need to get to Diagon Alley as they call it and buy him his school supplies I can only imagine the reaction when they find out Harry Potter was raised by Dementors" _she remarked, Lucy made a deep noise which could only be described as the Dementor equivalent to chuckling

"_Oh I can see Dumbledore now" _she whispered, suddenly the two sensed something,

"_What is that"_ Dora questioned, Lucy looked around

"_I sense low emotion and no thought what is that?" _she wondered briefly, then came the squawk of an owl. The noise was far off and it pecked furiously at the glass window of Harry's cell, an annoyed Lucy opened it with a wave of her hand

"_Useless things it could have woken him_" she complained angrily,

"_You sound more and more like a human mother everyday" _Dora remarked reaching for the package it was carrying, then she stopped. It was a Hogwarts crest with a note scribbled on top 

To Harry James Potter

Cell Room 35

Enclosed is 100 Galleons for all school supplies

Cornelius Fudge

"_He really turned around after what we heard" _Dora remarked, Lucy nodded

"_He saw Albus Dumbledore for what he is, not someone to ask for advice but someone to consider as both ally and enemy"_ she explained, she fumbled with the envelope , outside the sun was beginning to rise, her scabbed hand eventually used a clawed finger to rip the letter from its envelope

"What's that" asked Harry, The two Dementors glided back a few steps,

"_Morning Harry" _Lucy greeted holding the letter, Harry's eyes widened

"Is that a Hogwarts letter?" he gasped, then he became worried "What if they're telling me I can't go because I'm not at my uncles, or I'm not really a wizard". Harry was worried

"_Calm down child" _Dora soothed, "_I'm sure they don't send rejection letters" _Harry looked down

"What if I'm the first?" he asked worried, Lucy looked at the letter. She sensed the words on the page causing them to glow in her mind

"_Dear Harry James Potter" _she began, Harry shook as she read "_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry"._ Harry absorbed this for a few seconds

"I'm in!" he stated, Lucy nodded as the boy punched the air "Yes!, I'm going to be a wizard". During his jump he seemed to forget to land and he hovered a few feet above ground.

"I'm going to tell Sirius and Aunt Bella" he declared gliding over to Lucy and Dora and hugging them both, then he flew off with the same grace as a Dementor.

"_That boy never ceases to amaze, I mean hugging you I know he does, but me!" _Dora commented

"_Well, we need to fly to the Alley, or Shadow travel" _Lucy wondered ignoring Lucy's comment

"_Flying with amaze them while shadow travel might be a bit dark for humans to understand" _Dora answered thoughtfully, Lucy raised her hands

"_What are they going to say, Boy who lived flies to Alley this will be good, oh and I need to reduce my aura for a few hours" _she sighed.

"Well Done pup" Sirius grinned proudly as Harry showed him the letter

"Bella's Ickle Harry is going to Hogwarts" Bella sighed dramatically smiling at him. Suddenly a dark voice came from a cell  
"You disgust me Bella" was all it said, Bella was suddenly angry

"Shut up Crouch" she hissed much to Harry's confusion , why was this man being nasty to his aunt a person who had been kind to him and even decided to be his new aunt after hearing about the last one

"You play and talk with the boy who killed our lord" the man spat from his cell,

"He was a baby too young to know what he was doing, and Crouch you call yourself one of us you sobbed to your father and whined when he turned away in disgust" Bella retorted, the man laughed

"The boy doesn't even know he killed the dark lord" he told her, Harry looked at Bella

"I killed who?" Harry questioned worried about the direction of the conversation, Bella sighed

"Well I suppose I should tell you the truth, the Dark Lord thought you was going to hurt him so he came to your house when you were a baby and your parents who were Dumbledore's people" she began, Sirius interrupted

"He killed them both" he announce to Harry's shock, Bella shook her head

"Anyway he came to you and he cast the spell at you but it didn't work the spell killed him instead no one knows how but you are famous" Bella finished sadly , Harry looked shocked

"He killed my mum and dad, I thought you said he was nice" He questioned, Sirius saw his distress

"Voldemort was not a nice person, well to some he was but he killed you parents" he told him, Bella looked abashed

"Harry, The dark lord was wrong about you and I can see it now and I'm sure he will apologise one day when we both meet him again" Bella soothed, Harry looked upset and confused

"Huh from what I've gathered about Dumbledore I'm tempted to join up" Sirius growled, Bella glared at him

"Not a conversation for him" she protested, suddenly she shivered and the man called Crouch became silence

_Listen to me prisoner, If you ever try something like that again with him in the room I will put you in a supermax cell _Lucy's voiced hissed in his mind. Crouch whined in pain,

"_Come on Harry we need to go" _She told him lowering his distress levels,

"Where to?" he asked calmer now.

"_A place called Diagon Alley we need to get you school equipment_" Lucy informed him,

"How are we getting there? Shadow Travel" he asked eagerly, Lucy shook her head

"_No we flying, I hope you won't mind?"_ she asked slyly knowing his love for flying, Harry grinned

"Ok" he said enthusiastically

"_Well put on some clothes not pyjamas and we can get going" _she instructed. Harry shook his head and flew off down the hall to his room, Lucy addressed the room

_Death Eaters with nothing nice to say to him will remain Silent _she spoke angrily in their minds before gliding off.

Later

The skies were clouded with little light reaching the pair who expertly glided through them, Harry Potter ducked and dived through the clouds as they zoomed through the skies.

"How much longer?" Harry asked Lucy who pulled close to him suddenly

"_Were here, now rules. Some people may not appreciate my presence so you are to avoid anyone who may try to cast that silver spell" _she warned , Harry vaguely remembered a silver cat once driving Lucy away when they flew together once, "_Now second, you can explore the Alley, I have the money so if you see something and I'm not there then find and tell me so I can get it" _she finished, Harry nodded. Lucy took his hand and guided him down through the clouds.

"Is that Harry Potter"

"Is he flying?"

"Is a Dementor holding his hand!". These were the first words he heard as the two of them touched down on the pavement, Harry looked around at the many shops, he felt even more excited than he did at the start of the day and it took a scabby hand to restrain him.

"_Ok Harry as were here we can get your wand" _Lucy told him pointing to a shop, they both entered and Harry gasped when he saw the hundreds of wands piled onto shelves, an old man was sitting at the desk. Then he saw Lucy and jumped up  
"Hello, um Hello, am I in some sort of trouble?" the man questioned reaching for his wand,  
"No, I need my first wand" Harry told him brightly, the man relaxed

"Harry Potter?" the man wondered. when Harry nodded his wand hand dropped "Oh good I was wondering when I would get a visit from you, and a Dementor guard?". The man seemed puzzled by Lucy's presence

"No, I live with her, she's my guardian" Harry replied, the man seemed concerned by this

"she raised you?" he stuttered, Harry nodded. The man looked at Lucy quizzically before relaxing

"Well then I am Mr Ollivander and you need a wand I suppose" he stated, he gestured Harry forward. When Harry was standing at the desk the man put a box on the table

"Let's try this one" he decided giving Harry a long twisted wand, he held it in his hand and waved it. Nothing happened

"Maybe this one" Ollivander thought giving him a short stubby wand, Harry repeated his action and this time the wand shot from his hand

"No, No wait... I wonder" the man seemed to be talking more to himself now and strolled to a shelve, he picked out the right box

"Here we are" he exclaimed giving the wand to Harry, the second he touched it a warmth shot up his arm and flooded his hand, he knew this was the wand for him.

"Curious, How very curious" Ollivander muttered, Harry turned to him

"What's curious sir?" he asked, Ollivander looked at him thoughtfully

"The wand chooses the wizard Mr. Potter and why this wand chose you is very curious considering it has a brother a brother who was sold many years ago, to a man you yourself defeated" he spoke wisely

"Voldemort?" Harry questioned knowing he could speak the name with no Bella to scold him

"Yes Mr Potter, He Who Must Not Be Named did great things with that wand, Terrible yes but great" was the cryptic response, Harry seeing that as a dismissal allowed Lucy to drop a few Galleons onto his desk and leave.

"_Ok Harry, Now why don't you go the robe shop and I'll get your Cauldron and books" _Lucy suggested, Harry shrugged still wondering what Ollivander said, he nodded to Lucy and walked into the shop.

"Watch where you sticking them pins women" groaned an irritated by familiar voice

"Draco?" Harry smiled, the pale blond boy looked up  
"Harry! I heard you arrive well I heard about you flying here by the whole Alley you know how to make an entrance huh" Draco Malfoy greeted warmly, He and Harry had become close friends over the summers they spent together.

"Lucy decided, plus I got a wand" Harry told him showing of his Holy and Phoenix feather wand, Draco nodded in approval

"I got one two put I' m a little busy with some pins" Draco announced as the woman stuck another pin into the folds of fabric, she turned to Harry

"Mr Potter!" she exclaimed "Stand here I'll get to you in a moment". The woman turned back to Draco and removed a pin before vanishing off to another part of the shop

"Typical, she leaves me with pins stabbing me if a try to breathe" Draco whined "So Harry you got your letter, when you round mine this summer". Harry grinned

"Next week, but I think Lucy is picking me up before to say goodbye to Bella and she wants to see me off" Harry answered, Draco looked astonished

"She is a strange one, I mean a boy talking to a Dementor is one thing but she reminds me of my mother, caring but not to smothering" he remarked, Harry smiled

"Well, she would be nicer if she could talk to everyone but mind talk is apparently quite painful" he commented as the bell rang and a red haired boy walked into the shop.

"Mum I thought you said we were going to meet Harry Potter" he moaned as a red haired woman followed him in

"We will Ronald Dumbledore said we would but you still have school" The woman said sternly, Harry frowned

"You always told me I was famous but never why, now I have the whole wizarding world after me and this lot look a bit..." Harry began

"Annoying, greedy, stupid" Draco suggested, Harry nodded

"The boy most likely but my feelings tell me the woman is not to nice either" he replied reaching into her mind with is Dementor powers.

"There he is" the boy muttered pointing at Harry, but frowned when he saw Draco, the boy to Harry's annoyance rushed forward

"Hi I'm Ron" he introduced, thrusting his hand out, Harry ignored it

"I'm Harry Potter but I think you knew that judging from your thoughts" Harry told him searching through his mind

"Well your famous" Ron stated, Harry frowned when he saw his thoughts,

"I know but if your mind tells me anything then you are not here to be friends only to share imagined wealth and gain glory and if your mother's mind is reliable then you are getting a lot of money for befriending me" He growled, Ron looked angry but then calm

"Funny" he smiled "But you defeated You-Know-Who so it's only sensible that you befriend a true Gryffindor like me". The boy was more insistent now and had trouble concealing his anger. Luckily Madam Malkin chose then to appear  
"Sorry Mister Potter" she told him taking out a tape measure, for a few minutes she muttered to herself much to the displeasure of a stiff and agitated Draco. Then she withdrew the object and summoned some robes

"Here you go" she said warmly handing over a bag, Draco looked annoyed

"So you use that on him but on me you use these pins" he asked,

"You asked for venom silk something which requires a lot of time and money" she smirked, then her face fell as a black cloaked figure emerged into the shop. Both Ron's mother and Madam Malkin drew their wands but stopped in shock when Harry spoke

"Lucy, do you like them?" he asked showing her the wand, the women looked confused as he spoke in Dementor tongue but even more when a low whispering sound escaped from the Dementor's mouth

"_Very nice Harry, how much?" _she asked reaching for the small enchanted bag of Galleons,

"How much?" Harry asked Madam Malkin

"Umm, Five Galleons and two sickles" she stuttered as the Dementor handed over the money.

"Oh Lucy says hello" Harry directed at Draco as they left the shop leaving two open mouthed woman and annoyed Ronald Weasley and the irritated voice of Draco

"Ok he can talk to Dementors can we get the pins out now"?


	4. Chapter 4

Raised by Darkness: Chapter 4

**I would like to thank everyone for reading and reviewing this story, in response to the question about pairings I would appreciate any suggestions **

**Thanks**

**Apple**

"_How was Draco?" _Lucy asked as she glided a few centimetres above the ground,

"He's fine but there was something" Harry told her explaining the events in the shop, Lucy sounded conflicted suddenly

"_Stay away from him Harry, If what their minds said is true then you need to be careful about who you trust at Hogwarts"_ Lucy warned, she had suspected Dumbledore of a lot of things recently and had overheard many conversations between prisoners about him, Never the less she didn't wand her adopted child anywhere near him

"I will Lucy, I didn't like him much and his mother was getting money for him to be friends with me" Harry explained

"_It's a good thing you already have friends then, now the boy, at Hogwarts he may follow you and if he does don't cause him any pain, reading his thoughts fine, manipulating his mind fine but causing any pain through your powers except in self-defence is out of the question" _she told him gently, Harry nodded,

"So what else to we need to get?" he asked,

"_Well Harry why don't you go to flourish and blots to get some books while I have a look for an owl?" _Lucy suggested, she had wanted to get him something for a while now and with the money provided she wouldn't have to suffer any of them annoying Ministry owls.

"Yes please" Harry exclaimed immediately, Lucy would have smiled if she had a real mouth as she gave him three gold coins.

The book shop was large and Harry had never seen so many books, some he had seen an Draco's and others had been presents over the years but with the money bulging in his pocket he couldn't decide what book to get, then he saw someone. She was about his age and had brown bushy hair and her front teeth that stuck out slightly, she seemed alone and was looking for something

"Hello, are you ok" he asked concerned about her being alone, she turned to him with something of a confused expression

"Yes I'm fine, do you know where this book is?" she asked handing him a sheet of paper, Harry looked at it

"Defensive spells, oh it's there" he proclaimed loudly pointing to a book on the high shelf, The girl's face fell slightly

"How do I get up there?" she wondered "should I ask someone?" Harry shook his head

"I can reach" he assured her, she looked ready to respond but she was speechless as Harry glided up to the shelf, grabbed the book and handed it to her

"Here you go" he told her relived he could help in some way

"How did you do that?" the girl asked interested, "Professor McGonagall said she could only fly with a broom and you're my age". Harry smiled, the girl was very much like him, wanting to know everything she could about everything

"Well it's a long story" he began… then an elderly witch materialised from behind them

"Miss Granger have you found the book?" she asked, the girl held it up. Harry turned to greet the woman

"Are you Professor McGonagall?" he asked, the woman nodded then noticed his scar

"Harry Potter!" she stammered "but I thought Hagrid was taking you". She seemed to be talking to herself more than him but Harry replied

"No Lucy took me" he told her, then he turned back to the girl "I'm Harry by the way" thinking it rude to not introduce himself

"Hermione Granger" the girl replied as a loud crack filled the room

"Harry" came an old voice, Harry turned to see a robed elderly man with a long white beard, he instantly searched through the man's mind

"So you are Dumbledore" he realised, he was instantly suspicious. Sirius and Bella had told him to be cautious of the seemingly caring but manipulative man

"I've been looking for you for a while, now where is the person escorting you, I need to ask them to return you to the Dursley's to ensure the wards do not fail. Harry felt a jolt of fear but ignored it, he decided he was out of his depth and sent a mental message to Lucy, he felt a dark power from her

"No" Harry told the man coldly

"Mr Potter please addresses the headmaster with respect" McGonagall remarked, Harry ignored her

"But don't you miss your relatives" Dumbledore asked, Harry suddenly remembered something

"You are breaking several Ministry mandated laws and in a few moments someone will be along" he warned, Dumbledore seemed annoyed by this

"Who told you that!" he demanded letting his grandfatherly persona slip, Hermione shrunk into the background slightly. Harry seemed calmer now and he reached inside the two professors minds, he quickly set up a shield preventing them from thinking any thoughts that could produce the spell that could harm Lucy, he felt her anger as she approached. The old man seemed ready to draw his wand, Harry thought he might stun him and take him back to privet drive so he quickly rose in the air. This provoked a gasp from McGonagall and Dumbledore raised his eyebrows in curiously, before he had time to go for his wand, McGonagall clutched her forehead and Dumbledore's eyes stopped twinkling, Harry lowered himself and grabbed Hermione arm, making her immune to the angry Dementor

_I thought it was made very clear to leave him alone _Harry could hear her voice projected into their minds, Hermione heard it to as she clutched onto Harry's arm as the black cloaked monster approached

"Surely Fudge did not send a Dementor to watch the boy" Dumbledore demanded, Harry saw his mind reach for a happy thought but Harry's well placed shield prevented him

Watch him I raised him Lucy was furious now and it was only experience that kept the two professors from feeling pain

"What" Dumbledore demanded angrily,

_Watch _was all Lucy said as she forced Harry's memories into their minds, it only took a few seconds but McGonagall was enraged

"Albus how dare you" she shrilled "You promised he would be safe". Dumbledore thought for a response for a moment, Harry grabbed a book from a shelf and looked to Hermione

"Shall I see you on the train?" he asked, the girl seemed to be frightened at what she was seeing but looked to Harry, he saw in her mind she had never had many friends

"Ok" she muttered meekly as the two teachers argued

"See you then" Harry said brightly, the girl spirit's lifted by his mood and Harry thought it would be fair to increase her happiness, he did so and turned to the two professors

"I insist Harry return with me" Dumbledore was saying,

"OVER MY DEAD BODY" McGonagall screeched "You tricked me into putting him there once, and I would rather he go with this Dementor than you". Her fury was unprecedented and Harry thought she was giving Lucy and run for her money

"Miss Granger we are leaving" she said, Hermione waved Harry goodbye as she half walked, half dragged out of the shop. Dumbledore turned to Harry but Lucy had taken a firm hold of his hand, without a further word to the professor they left the shop knowing without a Patronus he had no way to stop them

"_Thank you for calling Harry, and well done for not attacking, your raw anger has been known to cause damage" _Harry shuddered, Lucy had once taken him to a playground, some of the boys were Dudley's friends and he saw them picking on a little girl, apparently Lucy had broken some kind of restriction on his magic and his emotions took over, he lifted up the boys and threw them across the playground without even approaching, he asked the little girl if she was ok and she meekly thanked him before running off. Lucy had begun teaching him Dementor magic that day and he had learned to control it, He had used much magic but he had a much more powerful version of Dementor Telekinesis and mind control something Lucy and him had kept well hidden in fear he would be studied by the ministry. Then a white own flew onto his arm

"_Oh sorry Harry, this is your owl, she seemed to be eager to leave and she seemed like something you'd like" _Lucy informed him as the owl affectionately nestled into his shoulder

"Hedwig" he decided, the owl seemed to approve of the name, he looked at her fondly

"Mr Potter" came McGonagall voice, Lucy was instantly on the defensive and stared at her warningly, Harry turned to her, the bushy haired was nowhere to be seen

"I would like to apologise if I knew anything about how you were treated I would have raised you myself" she proclaimed "I am so sorry I never checked on you". Harry saw the woman's agitation and guilt

"It's not your fault Professor" he told her "You tried to stop me going there, and they chose to treat me like that". McGonagall seemed amazed

"How did you know?" she asked,

"I saw your memories" he told her removing the mind shield from earlier

"How?" she asked still confused, Harry tapped his head

"I can, Dementor magic I think" he told her, he left out the part of him lifting things up with his mind and controlling minds, she seemed more confused

"But I have to go know but I will see you at school, goodbye" he said brightly, Lucy took his hand

"_Now put all your things into this bag" _she instructed opening a small enchanted bag, Harry complied  
"_Good let's go" _she told him, He waved to McGonagall and enjoyed her astonished face as he once again rose in the air and with Lucy by his side and Hedwig following behind flew off into the sky.

_The boy who lived flies!_

_It seems the boy who lived finally makes an appearance in Wizarding society with him preforming a miracle in the world of magic, eyewitness reports depict him flying to and from Diagon Alley with a Dementor from Azkaban. Is this where Dumbledore sent Harry Potter, to the Dementors? And how did he breach one of the laws of magic? The must be something extraordinary about the boy who lived _

"Front page every day for two weeks" Draco remarked, the two boys were flying on the family Quidditch pitch with Draco on a broom and Harry hovering next to him

"You really think they'd have better things to do" Harry muttered, Draco laughed

"Yeah Rita Skeeter wants to report on normal people when a half Dementor swoops in" he commented, "and apparently you were seen with a muggle born student whom I quote you showed a lot of interest in" Draco was laughing now

"I'm a bit young for romance" Harry muttered "Besides she was very nice".

"Don't let father hear you say that" Draco whispered "he still thinks we hate them". Harry and Draco spent many weeks discussing the purity of blood, both came to the conclusion they vowed never to share that apart from wealth blood had no matter. Harry sometimes wondered what Draco would be like if they had never met: would he have the same views on muggle borns or his fathers?

"Don't worry Harry that blond witch will have better things to talk about soon, I mean everyone thinks Dumbledore sent you to Azkaban as a child, Fudge won't comment either way, well his job is a risk if he does and he's fine with Dumbledore getting grief for leaving a child with monsters, which is partly right". Draco had limited knowledge of Harry's time with the Dursley's and Harry refused to discuss it in depth, all Draco knew was they were barbaric. Lucius had discussed it with him when he first met Harry in Azkaban and Harry found he got on well with the man.

"So Hogwarts only a few more days" Draco remarked longingly, Harry shared his feelings,

"You better be a seeker for Slytherin I mean you can fly! You could get that snitch in a second" Draco moaned, Harry loved Quidditch but he wasn't sure about flying in front of the whole school

"It's not against the rules, you can't fly on anything but a broomstick and you don't need that" Draco reasoned,

"You'd make a good chaser" Harry complimented remembering his friends superb goals when they played

"Well, after flying lessons I wouldn't be surprised if you get an instant promotion to seeker and I want to see the teacher's face when you complete the course with no broom" Draco snickered,

"Anyway when you leaving?".

"Tomorrow, hopefully Aunt Bella will have calmed down about me having the Voldemort's wands twin" Harry told him, the second Bella found out she was tearful saying Harry was going to be a great wizard like the Dark Lord and the twin wand's would only ever choose great wizards". Draco laughed  
"Yeah I can imagine her doing that, anyway how about a game?" Harry nodded and the two flew off towards the goal posts.

Five Days Later

"_Have you got all your books" _Lucy asked, Harry nodded as they walked through the train station, he didn't speak much as muggle's couldn't see her and it looked like he was talking to himself

"_And your clothes" _she asked again worry evident in her voice, he nodded again

"_Hedwig's food? Wand? Money?" _Harry nodded to all three as they descended down a flight of stairs, a few people he could identify as Wizards were staring at them,

"_Ok, but if you need anything tell me and I'll owl it" _Lucy informed him as Harry pushed his trolley,

"_Platform Nine and Three Quarters so I'm assuming this wall"_ she continued, Sirius told him he had to run through an invisible wall so he would be best to get that wall right or he might hurt himself. Harry saw the red haired boy running towards the same wall, he vanished

"Yep that would be it" he said aloud, Lucy glided towards it

"_Ok Take a bit of a run up"_ she called over to him, Harry saw the wall and began to run, at first he went slowly but got faster and faster, he momentarily wondered if he had the wrong wall when he found himself facing a vibrant red steam train, Lucy appeared behind him

"_Ok, well I suppose this is it" _she began "_Will your write and send mind messages"_

"Of course I will, I'll miss you too much if I don't and I'll come home for Christmas" Harry promised as he pulled his trunk into one of the luggage compartments. Lucy stared at him

"_You are so grown up, I remember when we first met" _she told him

"So do I, that was the first day anyone was really kind to me" he comforted her, suddenly her skeletal hands were wrapped around him. Harry was shocked for a moment as was every person on the platform as they saw a Dementor hug the boy who lived and then after it wore of hugged it back. Harry was amazed he had hugged Lucy before but he had always initiated it , when she spoke she sounded want could only be described as tearful

"_I'll miss you" _she choked out

"I will to" Harry comforted her, then she regained herself

"_Anyway of you go, enjoy yourself" _she told him, Harry waved at her as he boarded the first steps of the train

"Goodbye Mum" he whispered to himself, but Lucy heard, she stood up straight and Harry could feel both shock and pride as he waved at her,

"_Goodbye Son" _she whispered waving back as Harry boarded the train, he leaned out the window and waved and as the train began to move Lucy watched as her son vanished from view.


	5. Chapter 5

Raised by Darkness: Chapter 5

Harry briskly walked through the train, each compartment was full of students and he had no wish to be started at or interrogated about his defeat of Voldemort,  
"Harry!" called a voice, Harry spun around

"Draco, I was looking for you" he exclaimed happily, Crabbe and Goyle nodded at him as he entered their compartment

"So is it true?" Goyle asked immediately, Harry frowned

"What?" he asked, Draco laughed

"A Dementor hugged you" he explained,  
"Yeah" Harry confirmed, the two boys looked shocked

"Why!" Crabbe asked, Harry looked thoughtful

"Why does your mum hug you?" he asked, Crabbe and Goyle had limited knowledge on his upbringing and only saw him at Draco's

"Your Mum's a Dementor" Crabbe spluttered, Harry nodded

"How did that not get in the daily Prophet" Draco remarked, Harry smiled

"Everyone thinks Dumbledore hid me in Azkaban and Fudge is saying nothing" he told them "I know the governors are not happy". Draco laughed as did Crabbe and Goyle when a small squeak caused them to turn to the door

"Can I sit here?" Hermione asked

"Of course" Harry said, the girl sheepishly sat next to him, Draco gave her a smile while Crabbe and Goyle remained indifferent

"I'm Draco" the pale boy introduced, Hermione shook his extended hands and the two other boys gave her a nod, then the door slid open again, Harry sighed it was the red haired boy from the shop with two friends

"Hello Harry" the boy greeted, Harry frowned

"Yes?" he asked annoyed

"Well we found a compartment so you don't have to sit next to those Slytherins" the boy remarked "I'm Ron Weasley, this is Seamus and Dean". Draco snorted

"Why would I want to sit with you?" Harry demanded angrily, Ron frowned  
"Because you're a Gryffindor, you killed You-Know-Who" he stated as if Harry was simple

"These are my friends" Harry said coldly "and If you can't accept it please leave". Ron's ears turned red

"You are a Gryffindor and will act as one" he ordered, Harry took one look at him and knew what to do, he raised his hand and opened it. The door slammed shut and locked

"Idiot" Harry remarked as the boy banged on the glass

"How did you do that?" Draco asked not knowing of Harry's Telekinetic abilities,

"Dementor magic" Harry told him, Lucy had told him not to reveal to much but Harry guessed that using some magic didn't matter much

"Who was that?" Hermione asked confused

"He was paid a lot to befriend me but it looks like the pay check won't be coming any time soon" Harry told her. The next few hours was spent talking and joking with each other, Hermione became more confident and got more and more involved in the conversation, Draco took a shine to the obviously smart witch and Crabbe and Goyle (who Harry and Draco spent a long time convincing them blood wasn't as important) enjoyed the conversation. The topic suddenly came to houses

"Slytherin my whole family was in it" Draco informed them, Crabbe and Goyle said the same

"As long as it's not Gryffindor I'm fine" Harry commented

"Why not, I thought Dumbledore was a Gryffindor" Hermione pointed out

" Exactly, and I have a feeling he needs me for something but I have no idea what" Harry announced,

"Well Ravenclaw might be alright" Hermione decided sheepishly, Draco smiled

"Ravenclaw, bride of Slytherin, for those intelligent enough to succeed but not cunning enough to be in her husband's house" Draco beamed, Hermione smiled at this and spent the next hour discussing the founders with Draco. Then came a shout

"First years!". The voice was gruff and the five of them quickly exited the train, a giant of a man stood with a lamp gesturing the first years onward, a forest could be seen in the background as could a black lake. Harry quickly took a look inside the Giant's head, his name was Hagrid and was the gamekeeper here at Hogwarts, he had been expelled for something he did not do and was loyal to Dumbledore. He led them to the edge of the lake

"No more than four to a boat" he called, Harry, Draco and Hermione entered a boat as did a boy Harry did not know.

"Hi I'm Neville Longbottom" he said, Harry's blood went cold. He had looked into Bellatrix's mind enough to know who this was

"Hello, I'm Harry" he began  
"Harry Potter?" Neville finished

"Yes, it's nice to meet you" greeted shaking the boy's hand, he felt awkward knowing what had happened to his parents but knew he could not mention it, a look inside the boy's mind was enough to confirm he was deeply affected by what happened to his mum and dad. Luckily the boat ride was not long and Harry helped Neville out of the boat as Hagrid led them to the castle entrance, his huge fist pounded on the door and Professor McGonagall appeared, she looked at Harry briefly before turning away. She led them now to a door and told them to wait,

"My brother said we had to face a troll"

"No we need to prove what magic we have"

"No we have to..." the whispers got to Harry, he had no idea what he would face and without the professor he couldn't read any minds, then Ron came up to them.

"So Harry Potter" he began, "You have made friends with the wrong type of people and I feel it is my duty to help you". The boy spoke sincerely

" No it is not and I encourage you to leave me alone" Harry hissed angrily, Ron frowned

"You will accept my help" he encouraged, Harry reached into his mind

"No I will not, now before I reveal to the whole school about the time you proposed to your sister" Harry growled. Ron's ears turned red  
"I was six" he argued, Harry smiled

"See what the school thinks of that Ronnikins" he told the boy as he found his nickname

"How do you..." Ron asked shocked as Professor McGonagall appeared,  
"Follow me" she said curtly leading them into the great hall. Harry noticed a hat and he worked out what was going to happen.

"Longbottom Neville"

Gryffindor

"Crabbe Vincent"

Slytherin

"Granger Hermione"

Ravenclaw

The names went on, Draco was in Slytherin as was Pansy and Goyle. Ron and his cronies ended up in Gryffindor when his name was called

"Potter Harry". The hall went silent, he walked slowly towards the sorting hat, he sat on the stool and raised his mind shields

_Interesting_ came a voice, Harry smiled

_Would you lower you shields, so I may sort you? _asked the voice, Harry complied

_Amazing, simply amazing, You have the traits of all the founders, intelligence, wit, bravery, loyalty.. I have no idea where to put you, not Gryffindor you are too cunning while you are to loyal for Slytherin, To intelligent for Hufflepuff... well I suppose Ravenclaw but I'm not sure... Well a choice is a choice_

"RAVENCLAW" The hat bellowed,


	6. Chapter 6

Raised by Darkness: Chapter 

**As a note although Fudge is being nice to Harry and the Dementors he has no evidence to suggest Sirius Black is innocent and he still wouldn't believe Harry who is close friends with the man**

The entire Ravenclaw table erupted in cheers and claps as the sorting hat spoke, most were shouting  
"We got Potter" and others shouted on similar lines , Dumbledore looked angry as Harry sat down at the table and Harry wondered if he had put pressure on the hat to put him in another house. The red haired boy was scowling while Draco looked mildly amused, Hermione roughly pulled him into the seat next to her as Ravenclaw's shook his hand enthusiastically while others smiled at him

"So is it true you can fly?" one person asked

"and lived in Azkaban for your whole life" a girl asked a few seats away

"Ok leave the boy alone" a prefect shouted slightly annoyed,

"Hi" a girl greeted after the noise had died down, she was Chinese in origin and quite pretty and Harry smiled in response

"HI nice to meet you" the said to the first person who actually bothered with an introduction

"Funny you're in Ravenclaw " the girl said bluntly

"and why is that?" Harry wondered

"We all thought you'd be in Gryffindor but it just goes to show the bravest can be just as clever to, I'm Cho Chang by the way" The girl replied simply

"Perhaps it is, I'm Harry Potter and this is Hermione" Harry agreed before introducing himself "I know you already know who I am but it feels nicer to actually introduce yourself before the questions start flying". The girl tittered softly

"I suppose you get a lot?" she remarked, Harry nodded

"Never fly into a busy street" was his words of advice "to many people and reporters". He shuddered remembering the woman who wrote the article taking a snapshot of him when Lucy hugged him, that was going to make one hell of a front page

"Or hug your Dementor mum in the middle of a train station" Cho finished his sentence, before he could look surprised Cho explained

"I was on the platform and was behind you when you said goodbye, though I must say it's nice to know that even creatures people think to be evil can show they were wrongly judged". Harry was impressed by the girl's outlook

"I agree" Hermione began sheepishly "People judge other people in the muggle world and have no idea what they are really like, it's practically the same" . She seemed anxious as if Cho was going to snap and send her away but was visibly relieved when Cho agreed

"See everyone does it" she announced but was cut off when food began appearing on the tables

"Harry Snape's watching you" Cho commented looking surprised, Harry quickly delved inside the man's mind, his shields were strong but Harry managed to get a few glimpses of why he was glaring and was visibly disgusted  
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked as she piled her plate with roast potatoes

"Let's just say arrogant children can cause a lot of damage" Harry replied cryptically tucking into a slice of lamb, the feast dragged on for Harry and quickly found a lot of rumours had been spread about him already and Ron Weasley wanted to try again to get Harry moved to Gryffindor, Harry shook his head, he wondered if things had been different if he had stayed with the Durslyes and how he would react to the world of magic, suddenly as quickly as it appeared to food vanished

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts, now I have a few things to say before we get you all off to bed after you journey, firstly the forbidden forest is out of bounds to all first years unless on an academic trip and more importantly to some of our older students as well". the old man paused on the Weasley twins as he said this

"Also I would like to announce the third floor corridor is out of bounds to all those who do not which to die an painful death". A few people laughed at this but Harry had a feeling it was not a joke

"But apart from that I will bid you goodnight and remember to be up bright and early for the first day of learning, and I leave you with these final words Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!". Harry shook his head knowing the words had a deep meaning that he didn't particularly want to ponder at this late hour and instead followed the Ravenclaw prefect to the common room.

"Now to get in we need to answer a riddle first, if you get it wrong hope you're not the last one into the common room, he knocked and sure enough a voice came from the knocker

"Where does the end of magic lie?", a few of the prefects look confused but Harry piped up  
"A place where there is no past or present but only to the future" he answered

"Good answer" the eagle knocker replied, some of the Ravenclaws looked appreciative while others annoyed he got the answer first

"Ok, boys up to the left and girls to the right" the head boy instructed "your luggage is ready for you". Harry bid goodnight to Cho and Hermione and walked along to find his dorm , he found it quickly and found two others in the room already

"Hi I'm Terry" one immediately greeted

"Hugh" another one announced as he changed behind the blue curtain that covered their four poster beds

"And I'm Grant" they last introduced, he was a taller and thinner then Harry but was overshadowed by a more muscular Terry and taller fatter Hugh. Hugh had a mop of blond hair while Grant had his short and spiked, Terry had sandy hair that was cut short

"I'm Harry nice to meet you" Harry responded warmly. The night passed a lot quicker after that and quickly the three tired boys drifter off to sleep, Harry thought of Lucy as he snuggled into his pillow sending her a quick mental message of what house he was in and briefly wondered how she was coping without him.

Meanwhile 

"Slytherin" Bellatrix taunted

"Gryffindor!" Sirius argued as they yelled back and forth, they had been saying the same words for over an hour and were starting to annoy the other prisoners

"Shut up" Crouch screamed from a cell  
"Shut up Crouch" Bella and Sirius said together annoyed with the man

"_Shut up all of you" _Lucy placed into their minds, she swooped in feeling a mixture of pride and loss as she received the mental message, Bella ignored the pain of Lucy's mind talk and asked

"Which one, tell me it was Slytherin" she squealed excitedly

"No Gryffindor" Sirius shouted

"_It was Ravenclaw" _Lucy sighed desperate to shut the two up, Bella and Sirius looked at each other

"Well she was the bride of Slytherin" Bella decided

"And she was a brave person so it's a bit of both" Sirius conceded

"And he's clever" Bella announced

"At least he's not too close to Dumbledore" Sirius said loudly

"_Here we go again" _Lucy said to herself putting some distance between her and the two cousins

Flying class 

"Ok Ravenclaws and Gryffindors have been put together for this exercise so maybe we can have a lesson without the petty rivalry" Madam Hooch began, Harry stood next to Hermione and knew the red haired boy was watching him waiting for a chance ,

"Now please grab your broomstick" she ordered as the group of eager first years picked their brooms up, Harry left his on the ground

"Did you hear me Mr Potter?" Madam Hooch asked, Harry was about to reply when he saw Neville clumsily grabbing his broom

"Neville wait.." he warned as the boy crashed into a wall, the class looked horrified as he fell back down to the ground, Ron was laughing hysterically as Madam Hooch rushed over

"Oh dear.. come on we better go to see Poppy" Madam Hooch was saying as Ron picked up Neville's Remembrall and pocketed it as Neville was led away

"Give it back" Harry hissed at Ron

"Why fatso will forgot he lost it" he shrugged prompting a laugh from his friends

"You shouldn't take things that don't belong to you or things people smarter than you own" Harry retorted, Ron turned red

"I'm smarter than him" he growled  
"Doubtful" Harry remarked angrily, Ron obviously couldn't win a fight and jumped on his broom  
"Come get in then" Ron taunted levitating in the air, Harry smirked and flew to the same height, a collective gasp ran through the class and Ron paled.

"You see Weasley, there is a something you should realise, you are on a broom holding a ball of glass and I am flying unaided and wondering if I can get away with pushing you off" Harry threatened, the class was watching the pair in awe as Ron looked down, He didn't want to seem weak so instead threw the glass ball as hard as he could in the other direction,

"If you're on that broom when I get back your coming off it!" Harry growled, then he relaxed slightly then with intense speed he zoomed after the ball, it was about to enter the charms classroom when Harry lunged for it, luckily the window was open slightly and Harry braked just as he entered Flitwick's room, he grabbed the Remembrall and looked pleased with himself, that was until some very surprised foul words hit his ear, he was in a class full of second years, he saw Cho

"Hi Cho" he greeted awkwardly as he saw Professor Flitwick's stunned face at the flying boy

"Well I better get back so see you later" he smiled quickly rushing out the window and diving towards the ground, the class ran to the window in time to see him glide away and land in the middle of the first year class. Ron was looking amazed while a few of the students cheered,

"I've had enough Potter, I challenge you to a wizards duel" another gasp ran through the students

"No I'm fine" Harry answered

"What!" Ron asked open mouthed "Your too weak"?

"No I'm not going to waste time or energy while you send sparks at me" was Harry's answer

"You have to accept" Seamus announced

"No I don't plus" Harry began flicking his hand towards the two boys, as if an invisible hand pushed them they fell to the ground

"I can call that a win" Harry coolly replied as two teachers emerged from the castle

"Fillus what do you mean flew, he manoeuvred a broom through your window?" Madam Hooch was asking shocked

"No Rolanda he flew no broom no charm, he flew into my class grabbed a glass ball and left" the half goblin squeaked excitedly as they walked over, Madam Hooch looked a lot sterner when she approached the class

"Harry flew" Ron shouted suddenly, before Harry could protest a floor of students began defending him  
"Miss Weasley threw Neville's..."

"No Miss Harry was only helping"

"But Miss it wasn't his fault" The group babbled as Madam Hooch help up a hand

"Quiet, Fillus would you like to talk to Mr Potter?" she asked, the man quickly rushed towards him

"Hello Mr Potter I'm head of Ravenclaw now was it you who just flew into my classroom?" he squeaked , Harry nodded nervously

"How?" Flitwick asked amazed, Harry shrugged and rose himself a few meters off the ground, Madam Hooch looked amazed while Flitwick smiled in pride and astonishment

"Can you come with me Mr Potter?" he asked when Harry landed "I have a captain that you might want to meet, oh I better ask the headmaster about bending a rule and also if you can fly without a broom in Quidditch, this year might be the year of the Ravenclaw" Flitwick spoke to himself as he looked at Harry

"Ok Professor" Harry agreed hoping he wasn't in trouble, then Flitwick grabbed him by the arm and Harry half walked, was half pulled in the direction of the castle.


	7. Chapter 7

Raised by Darkness: Chapter 7

**Any ideas on parings would still be welcome (Not Harry/ Ginny though!)**

Harry walked into the potions classroom barely on time, Flitwick had dragged halfway around the school to meet the quidditch captain, he looked at Harry sceptically and told him to be on the Quidditch pitch after lessons for a test. Flitwick didn't reveal much other than he could fly excellently and what the direct rules were for Quidditch, then he was pulled from his thoughts as the dungeon door burst open. Like a ghost Severus Snape seemingly glided through the room inspecting his new students, his eyes had nothing but disgust and dislike and Harry found them pause on him for a second longer than the rest.

"There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class. As such, I don't expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion-making. However, for those select few who possess, the predisposition... I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death" he began his speech dryly and Harry was starting to lose interest

"Ahh Mr Potter our new celebrity" his voice was dry and full of contempt and Harry really couldn't blame him after even a quick glance into his memories, Harry glanced up at the man

"Tell me, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Harry frowned knowing the answer but also knowing it was very advanced for a first year class

"Draught of the Living Dead" Harry answered, a brief flicker of surprise passed over the man's face obviously not expecting him to get the answer

"Well Done, well then Mr. Potter, would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?" The question was slightly harder but Harry remembered the answer from a book he picked up

"The stomach of a goat where the acids create a very strong antidote" Harry replied quickly, Snape's eyes flashed with anger this time, he was trying to show Harry up and it wasn't working, with a sigh he gave it one last effort

"Well then Mr Potter tell me what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Harry was slightly irritated know as he understood the man's dislike of James Potter but trying O.W.L level questions on a first year to show them up was defiantly unacceptable  
" they are the same plant which also goes by the name of Aconite" Harry replied coldly, as he spoke a light chill coated the room and Harry knew his Dementor abilities were reacting to his emotion

"Well are you not going to write this down?" Snape demanded angered that his attempt had failed, Hermione nudged him

"Was that you?" she whispered softly

"What?" Harry asked

"When you spoke just now it was like that.. what was it... Dementor swooped into the bookshop" she hissed, Harry didn't see much point in lying

"Yes but don't tell anyone" he whispered "It would not be good". His last words were spoken more to himself than Hermione remembering Lucy's warnings about not revealing the true extent of his powers.

Meanwhile 

_"I'm Sorry?" _Lucy replied seemingly surprised as three Dementors glided over to her, she was on patrol outside the prison borders when three of her sisters approached her

"_You heard correctly, it seems that a great deal of money has been removed from Harry's primary account, a goblin sent the report to Dumbledore but Ragnok intercepted it, he found out that in wizarding terms almost 20 000 were taken over the years without consent" _one informed her, Lucy made a deep growling noise

"_And he sent it to Fudge who is Harry's contact" _she growled deeply

"_Precisely, he issued a statement to us and the corrupt Goblin in charge of the funds has been in muggle terms eliminated"_ another continued

"_So who has the money been going to?" _Lucy inquired already dreading the answer

"_Albus Dumbledore and Molly Weasley" _the third replied angrily  
"_WHAT!" _Lucy exclaimed "_How dare he take Harry's money after all he did to him"_ her clawed scabby hands were shaking in rage as the Dementor Dora piped up

"_I'm sorry Lucy but that is not all, it seems Dumbledore is in the process of drafting a legally binding marriage contract to Harry and a third party", _Lucy froze

"_He was trying to do a lot more than control Harry, he was trying to ensure he had complete power over his life and I this contract" _she realised "_and he dared to make a contract about my son" _the second the words left her mouth the group of Dementor let out a burst of air

"_I knew it" _Dora nodded tilting her head slightly, the others felt amazement and pride that there friend had accepted she was a lot more to Harry than a mentor

"_We can talk later but more importantly we need to deal with this matter before it gets out of hand, we need to do something to make sure he gets all the money back and I want to rip that contract into shreds" _Lucy finished with a hissing noise

Later

"So Harry isn't it" Michal Davis asked, he was a tall sixth year with neatly combed blond hair, his eyes were a dark blue which drew attention from his muscle riddled body and imposing stance

"Now Flitwick didn't tell me much, and Madam Hooch over there suggested I use a training quaffle to fly around the pitch and be ready for one hell of a surprise, now I know the rules are relaxed but if this talent of yours is hurtful or cruel then get lost because I try to maintain a good reliable upstanding team" he began obviously showing scepticism and gestured briefly to Madam Hooch and a few other members of staff, Flitwick was there sitting in the seats excitably knowing what Harry was going to do while the nurse Harry hadn't met yet and another teacher looked interested to why they had been invited

"Ok Harry?" Michal asked taking out one of the quaffles, he threw it into the air and it began to fly around the pitch at a low speed, Michal obviously thinking Harry would not be keep up for long. He looked ready for Harry to pick up the broomstick on the floor but Harry stifled a smirk at his gasp of surprise as he ascended into the air, the rumours had been flying around the school about his unplanned flight into the charms classroom and obviously few had taken them seriously, he glanced at the shocked staff who were pointing and talking quickly to each other. Harry focused on the quaffle, with as much speed as he could muster he swooped over to it and plucked it from the air, he lazily flew back to Michal whose mouth was still open

"How did you... What did you... well" he stammered eyes wide, Harry held out the quaffle. Michal let out a breath and chuckled shakily

"Well that was one hell of a shock!" he remarked "How did you do that?". Harry smiled knowingly but gave nothing away

"Screw it I don't care, whatever you just did was amazing, oh my God I want to see the look on Wood's face when a first year literally glides off the floor, you're in you're in" he stammered grinning, then his face fell serious

"Ok kid, let's see how you do when the quaffle is moving a lot faster, say from broom to broom" he ordered throwing it back into the air, once again Harry zoomed of ready to play the game that he loved.

Slytherin Common Room

"Oh why couldn't he be in Slytherin!" Pansy whined sulking as she leaned against the green sofa, Draco was chuckling as she muttered how much she wanted Harry to be in their house

"He's in Ravenclaw, bride of Slytherin and all that stuff" he remarked shaking his head

"But he's cool, not nerdy or annoying like the other Ravenclaws and he can play Quiddtich" she moaned

"Just cause you think he's cute" someone yelled out

"Shut it Greengrass" Pansy retailed as a blush came to her cheeks, Draco was laughing hysterically at this and it took being pelted with several cushions to shut him up

"You got your work cut out for you then, he's already got, Hermione, the Chang girl, the Ravenclaw Patel twin and half a dozen Gryffindors" Draco snorted with a cackle

"I do not!" Pansy hissed "I mean like him, well I like him as a friend but.." she trailed off,

"Beside since he's in Ravenclaw doesn't that mean you can boss him around, seeing as he's in Slytherins wife's house?" Blaise Zabini asked curiously, Pansy's face lit up at the suggestion

"He could fly me to class" she responded thoughtfully, this was too much for Draco (and most of Slytherin house) who burst out laughing

"Shut up" Pansy hissed pelting Draco with another round of cushions

"Just cause the girl has a crush!" Daphne Greengrass commented

"Shut up" Pansy practically screeched

"But I agree he can play Quidditch, I was going to tell our captain about the... legless issue but he is so arrogant around first years I think we can leave it, that might just wipe the smirk of his face" Draco answered with a sly smile, he spoke softly and Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle smirked knowing their captain's dislike of first years

"So we're going to lose the Quidditch cup, what's new?" Pansy asked bored of the Quidditch conversation , Draco snorted

"I don't care who wins as long as it's not the Gryffindors, they are just too smug" Draco commented annoyed

"Tell me about it" Pansy muttered glad to have her embarrassment discarded in a new conversation

Gringotts

The day was slowly winding down now and only a few Goblins were left on duty, some were tapping away at different machines while others were writing furiously on parchment. Then the door opened and a small man walked in with a toad like woman wearing a luminous pink cardigan, a few goblins looked up in surprise as the Minister of Magic himself walked up to a desk

"I'm here to see Mr Ragnok" he squeaked nervously

"Of course Minster, may I ask under what premise?" it asked sharply

"Harry Potter" Fudge replied, as the Goblin walked off to alert the bank director Dolores Umbridge looked up

"May I ask what you know of Mr Potter's case I mean the press have made some guesses about the boy that are less pleasant than one would like?" she inquired

"I see you are learning the game of politics Dolores, hide your questions in worry and concern" Fudge remarked with a smile, the goblin suddenly emerged accompanying him was an elderly Goblin who seemed surprised the Minister asked to see him

"I believed the guardian of Mr Potter would be joining me so why are you here minister? you are listed as his contact not his guardian" The Director began dryly

"Apologies she cannot be here due to a security issue and has sent myself as a proxy, madam Umbridge is taking notes on the meeting" Fudge greeted gesturing to the woman as he handed the Goblin a signed document

"Understandable" Director Ragnok decided formally "Now what is it you wished to discuss"  
"Put simply the guardian of Harry James Potter has requested that all the money be returned to him, the marriage contract dissolved and any other Goblins found to be involved in the conspiracy be dealt with harshly_" _Fudge explained as Umbridge scribbled furiously on her clipboard

"Interesting" the Director remarked cryptically

"What is?" Fudge asked oblivious

"When you first became minister we believed you to be a very weak incompetent man who relied on advice from another wizard or as we call him the puppet master, but something has changed, you seem to be more confident and less suspicious of the Goblin people, I wonder what has caused such a change" Ragnok revealed, Fudge seemed unsure of what to say to this backhanded compliment

"But your demands are acceptable however if his guardian had no inclination of the funds it was theft plain and simple and we will be launching a full investigation into these thefts and any Goblins who are involved I promise you will be dealt with in the harshest manor possible" The director assured Fudge darkly who broke into a smile

"Thank you very much, she will be delighted to hear it" Fudge replied "Thank you for your time". As he turned to leave a voice interrupted him

"However it comes at a price" the Goblin remarked, Fudge turned round

"I have gold" he announced hoping that was what they wanted

"No, even amongst Goblins Mr Potter is famous and in exchange we want to know exactly what happened to him without the rubbish your press are printing, is this acceptable?" Ragnok inquired innocently, Fudge sighed deeply  
"I suppose" he conceded knowing his night of explanation was going to be a long one


	8. Chapter 8

Raised by Darkness: Chapter 8

**Next update should be sometime next week**

**Thanks for reading**

Headmasters office

The sealed letter arrived like another on this crisp October morning and Albus Dumbledore was sucking on a lemon sweet while reading his mail, then he froze as he unraveled the parchment and saw what was inside

_"_WHAT!" He roared in anger, his hands were shaking and his eyes were white with rage, Fawkes chirped in the background as Dumbledore threw the letter to the ground

_Dear Albus Dumbledore_

_Order of Merlin First Class_

_Supreme __Mugwump_

_Under a unanimous ruling from the Goblin people we hereby inform you that you must pay back precisely two hundred thousand Gallons, two hundred sickles' and two knuts must be returned the House of Potter due to grave misdeeds on your behalf. Until such a time your assets have been frozen and the vault sealed due to its lack of funds. You and Misses Molly Weasley must appear in front of a panel of Goblin officials for your theft, Failure to do will result in your funds being seized and used to pay back your debt but also will mark an end to the relationship you have with the Goblins,_

_ Director Ragnok _

_Gringotts Wizard Bank_

_"HOW DARE THEY" Dumbledore roared "THEY CAN'T DO THIS TO ME, I THE GREATEST WIZARD OF ALL TIME" his fury was radiating around the room and even the phoenix song could not calm the man down_

_"Shut up you blithering bird" The old man snapped. No he could do something about this, he could take his position and _Supreme _Mugwump and put an end to those foul creatures meddling, no he would not be pushed around by anyone. Then another letter arrived, it was a ministry owl and Dumbledore smiled, it looked like it was from the minister. He knew the idiotic man couldn't go too long without begging for advice, well let's just see what he wants, then his face fell as he read the letter_

_Dear Albus Dumbledore_

_Order of Merlin First Class_

_Supreme __Mugwump_

_It has come to our attention that during your time as __Supreme __Mugwump you have ignored the basic principles and ideals for the role, firstly after a panel of ministry departments were briefed on the still developing Harry Potter case they have all decided that a full scale investigation must be launched and during the time you are placed under suspension until a conclusion can be reached. Secondly you, Misses Molly Weasley must also appear in front of the __Wizengamot to shed light on a number of loyalty and love potions found on her property which are addressed to you. Furthermore in accordance with the trial of Vernon and Petunia Dursley for crimes of abuse you will also appear in order to justify (good luck) placing him in their care._

_Cornelius Fudge _

_Minister Of Magic _

Dumbledore was astonished, he couldn't believe the nerve of the man to order him of all people to appear in front of Wizengamot and then to comment on his reasons for placing Harry in his relatives care and Molly. The foolish woman should have known better than to address potions to him, no and her sons failure would mean there would be no pay check this month.

Meanwhile

"_You seem excited" _Dore remarked plainly gliding next to Lucy, in front of them was a house that Lucy knew all too well

"_I have been waiting this day for four years" _Lucy replied, it was early morning and she knew the inhabitants of number four privet drive would be up fairly soon, her and six other Dementors had joined her on the mission to apprehend these people. Some would have called that excessive for muggles but after hearing ten minutes about what Harry went through most demanded much more.

"_It's a shame Muggles can't go to Azkaban" _Dore announced

"_I imagine a lot of our sisters would want a word with them but no, we can make a record and send them to a muggle prison, but they may be getting a few visits from me" _Lucy hissed angrily, she remembered the first time she saw this place and the hatred she felt for those who lived within it

"_I think a lot of us including me have that view, I know Helena, Esther and some others wanted to come on this mission but didn't have the time" _Dora explained suddenly her scabbed hand extended, a light had been switched on in the living room

"_Positions!" _Lucy called loudly, the cloaked things moved slowly around the house

"_On my mark" _she hissed again, their hidden muggle charm was turned off and they were all eager to apprehend those who hurt the person they had all grown fond off

"_Now" _Lucy led the attack, she moved as a blur towards the front door and in one moment is was reduced to splinters, she heard the woman scream from upstairs the man look at her in pure fear

"You!"he exclaimed stammering  
"_I said you would pay for what you did and now I would like to inform you that you and your wife are under arrest for the crime of child abuse, neglect and mistreatment" _she spoke in his mind with malice, he squeaked in terror and pain as her scabbed hands tightened around his arm, from upstairs Petunia screeched as Dora said the same thing and pulled her roughly down the stairs

"Get away from my mum!" a whale of a boy said charging towards her, two other Dementors pinned him against a wall,

"_Silence child" _they hissed at the bully as he tried to swing his arms  
"Dudders" His mother cried as she was escorted out of the door by Dora and another Dementor, Lucy dragged the man by his arm with another Dementor gripping onto his other arm, feeling satisfied she flew off into the sky.

Later 

The Halloween Feast was an occasion for all it seemed, with a variety of treats and dishes, Harry was sat opposite Cho who was tucking what looked like a chocolate covered rat

"How was class?" she asked politely, Harry smiled and grabbed a cauldron cake

"All good though Snape went ballistic in potions, apparently catching me out is harder than he thought" Harry remarked slyly

"And when he found out your a new chaser, he spent the whole day on edge" Cho giggled, suddenly Harry knew something was missing, or who

"Wait, where's Hermione?" he asked Cho, her face fell slightly. Hermione had spent most of the day helping Neville with his charms work after they were paired up, Harry and Hermione were the only ones to actually complete the spell

"Well after class apparently the Weasley Boy came up to her" Cho crinkled her face in disgust and the mere mention of Ron

"Anyway he was annoyed because she was a muggle born and she shouldn't be so good and she should leave because no one likes her" Cho continued glaring at the mop of red hair over at the Gryffindor table

"Anyway he said some nasty things and she ran off, she's in the girls toilets and won't come out, I tried to comfort her but she was hysterical" Cho sighed, Harry was now angry and stood up. His eyes were slightly foggy as he made a big show of walking to the Gryffindor table wand drawn, all eyes were on him as he calmly made his way to were Ron was sitting

"So, you decided to join us at last" The boy remarked grinning, his grin didn't last long. Before he could blink a wand was positioned between his eyes and a very angry Harry glared at the boy

"If I ever here of you bullying one of my friends again, I will pick you up and throw you off the astronomy tower" Harry barked his eyes much darker, Ron was petrified

"Understood?" Harry growled menacingly, Ron nodded, Harry gave him one last cold glare and walked back over to his seat, Ron was being glared at by seemingly all the Gryffindor who knew of the incident, most of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. Draco had just heard of what happened and looked ready to march over and beat Ron to a pulp,

"That worked" Harry directed at Cho but said loudly enough for all to here, then he felt someone behind him

"Mr Potter" Came the stern voice of Professor McGonagall "While Mr Weasleys actions were in poor taste I do not think your actions are appropriate". Harry turned to her

"If I had informed you like some others have about his bullying behaviour then there is a high chance that he would do it again before you had a chance to reach him, it seems there is no harm done, other to his pride" Harry responded calmly, then the doors smashed open. Harry saw Quirrel burst into the room in a fit of panic (not unusual) and scream

"TROLL, THERE'S A TROLL IN THE DUNGEON", then he fainted. The entire hall burst into panic and cries, shouts and sobs could be heard in all directions. In took several loud firecrackers from Dumbledore's wand to silence the students

"Prefects lead your students to the dormitories, Teachers follow me to the dungeons" he spoke calmly, Harry got in line when he was nudged by Cho

"Harry, Hermione, she doesn't know about the troll" she told him worried, Harry was suddenly alert

"Your right, we need to get her, let's think, quick follow me" he instructed leading the girl into the Slytherin line, then he saw Draco

"Draco" he whispered causing the blond boy to turn around

"Harry?" he questioned surprised

"Hermione, she doesn't know about the troll" Harry indicated, it took a moment for his words to sink in

"Crabbe, Goyle" he called grabbing his henchman, they five quickly sidestepped into a corridor

"Cho where did Hermione go?" Harry demanded

"First Floor, bathroom" Cho responded. Immediately Harry took the lead and they rushed through the halls towards their destination,

"Ok so what's the plan?" Draco inquired as they ran up a flight of stairs

"Haven't worked that part out yet" Harry confessed making a sharp left

"How are we going to fight a Troll?" Draco asked

"No clue, Cho's in second year so she might know some more advanced magic" Harry addmitted

"Oh so were running blindly to get Hermione while a troll is in the castle which could kill us and we are defenceless except for Cho who might or might not know offensive Magic?" Draco checked

"Pretty much" Harry answered, then he heard a loud thud, he stopped sharply and looked around

"Genius, that has to be one of your best plans yet" Draco remarked dryly doing a great impression of Snape

"It's close" he warned hearing giant footsteps

"Worked that one out" Goyle stammered,

"This way" Cho pointed grabbing onto Harry's arm and leading him towards the noise

"Come on Crabbe and Goyle, were only running to rescue a Ravenclaw which happens to be close to a troll which might or might not kill us depending on how inclined it is to eat us, oh and we are defenceless" Draco laughed trying to put on a brave face, secretly he wondered why he was doing this, sure Hermione was his friend but would he do the same if Crabbe, Goyle or even Pansy was in her position.

"Uh oh" Harry sighed, the door was gone, all that was left was a pile of splinters and a screaming girl

"Come on!" Harry instructed rushing forward, after a moment Cho followed him

"Genius again, if you're trying to kill us next time say do something less dynamic, say a dragon or insane wizard, or maybe just drop a chandelier on us" Draco shouted after them before following, Crabbe and Goyle seemed unsure

"And you two" Draco scowled pulling the two forward,

"Harry, Cho, Draco?" Hermione was surprised at seeing her friends as the troll swung it's club in her direction

"Crabbe and Goyle are here to" Draco remarked as the two run into the room. In front of them was fully grown mountain troll, the stench choked their lungs as it turned to look at them, it roared angrily brandishing it's wooden club.

"Were dead" Draco decided impassively wondering why the hell he wasn't afraid, Harry however was looked into the creatures eyes, its thoughts would be no help and he doubted it had much of a mind, that left one choice. His eyes turned jet black and thick black smoke rose up from around him, the Troll seemed confused as Harry's hands became sharp and skeletal and he heard cries from his friends as rose in the air with his legs lost in a black cloud. Harry Potter had done something Lucy had told him never to do unless it was an emergency and he guessed this was an emergency... he had revealed the full extent of his power... and his appearance was just the beginning.


	9. Chapter 9

Raised By Darkness: Chapter Nine 

**Sorry posted the non edited version last time, this the repost**

The feeling was euphoric, a cloud of black smoke swirling around his legs faced the beast in front. Harry saw its soul and life force pulsing through its form creating the feelings of fear and wonder, it raised its club and swung towards him but Harry was already gone. He moved as a blur between the troll's strikes and flew with grace as he began working out his next move, his friends were looking horrified and confused but Harry had no thought for them as his clawed skeletal hand reached out and stopped the club half way, the beast made a strange inconsistent noise as a wave of telekinetic energy send it crashing to the floor, the wall shuddered as the monster's head slammed into it, the sinks broke as one and the window smashed into shards, then like silky tendrils the black smoke surrounding him began reaching for the creature, gripping it and piercing into its flesh. It cried out in pain as they punctured muscle and fat tissue and howled when the tendrils leeched into its veins and without knowing it began draining it, Harry felt like liquid gold was poured inside him as the monster's life force; not soul was pumped into him. The troll's eyes clouded as its soul began looking for an escape before it was tied down by the darkness only to be savoured once the beast was dead

"Harry" came a voice, it seemed both close and far at the same time and from somewhere Harry's sense urged him to listen. The life force of the troll was nearly depleted and in a few moments it would breath no more

"Harry" the voice was louder, more urgent and Harry turned to see the shocked faces of Cho and Draco, the tearful terrified face of Hermione and amazed faces of Crabbe and Goyle. _No I will not lose control _Harry told himself as his sense began overpowering his urge to feed of his victim, the smoky tendril recoiled and with great effort Harry detached himself from its life force. The effort took every ounce of power in his body and he felt some relief when he saw the creature was not dead, he had not killed it, then his eyes began to flicker and like a damaged missile he crashed to the ground

"Harry?" Cho asked a mixture of concerned and shocked as he began to lose consciousness

"So...so Sorry, shouldn't" Harry mumbled as his body went limp. He faintly heard the noise of the teachers charging into the room but he quickly fell into a deep sleep

"What happened here?" McGonagall demanded seeing the exhausted, defeated troll and an unconscious Harry. Draco and Cho looked unsure of what to say when Hermione stepped forward

"It was Harry miss" she began quickly "I was in the bathroom when Harry realised I was missing and got some friends to come and help me, he flew around the Troll to distract it and we hit it with jinxes from down here, Cho and Draco accidently mixed two jinxes up which caused the Troll to collapse and it hit Harry with its club in the process". Her lie was far from perfect but it was the best she could come up with in such a short amount of time

"Yes that's what happened" Cho agreed quickly

"Exactly what happened" Draco confirmed, Crabbe and Goyle nodded in response. McGonagall looked sceptical

"Why were you in here Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked, Cho stepped forward and summarised the day's events to the teachers, Flitwick suddenly piped up

"Why was I not informed?" he asked annoyed "If a Gryffindor attempts to bully one of my students then I need to deal with it, Minerva I am disappointed you did not tell me this". Minerva muttered something in response and looked slightly abashed

"Well done you lot, you managed to save a student and take down a mountain troll and for that I think we should give sixty points to Ravenclaw and Slytherin for their equal part in this rescue" he beamed at his students, Dumbledore was glaring at them trying to dig into their minds but for some reason was repelled, no student of this age could learn Occlumency so something much different happened here but without proof he had to let them go

"Well you five need to return to your dormitories while we will escort Mr Potter to the hospital wing" he sighed feeling defeated.

The next day

Harry's eyes flickered open, he felt drained both physically and mentally which was accompanied by a painful headache. He had no idea where he was but he was lying on soft sheets and was feeling rather comfortable

"Ahh your awake" a woman noticed walking over to him "You Potters can never do things simply can you? a direct hit from a troll should have knocked you out for a week but it took you less than twenty four hours". Harry looked confused before remembering the events of the previous night , oh god he almost lost control. Lucy had warned him time and time again that he shouldn't experiment with his other form so young, though the ability to rein himself in was astounding then again knowing Lucy and his mind link with her...

_Your awake _her voice was concerned but Harry could sense she was annoyed

_I'm so sorry Lucy it's just_ he began worried as she searched through his memoires

_Shhh Harry, Shh I felt your transformation and I was worried you did it to show off to your friends but instead you did it to save a friend then its fine, but you were almost discovered_ she soothed him, the nurse was looking at him; wondering why he was staring into space but Harry ignored her

_I know_ Harry agreed shuddering at the thought  
_Though I must commend you for being able to control it, I was worried you would of done a lot of damage to the school and students and it took a lot of doing for me not to fly to the school, you should thank Dora _Lucy told him

_Though my friends saw and I don't know what they going to think_ Harry confessed miserably,

_It will all be fine trust me, just tell them the truth they will understand_ Lucy comforted him _I need to go and serve food to the east wing but if you need be just send a message_. Harry sighed deeply as he felt the connection sever

"Are you ok Mr Potter" Madam Pomfrey asked

"Yes" Harry assured her "When can I leave". The woman tittered in response

"Not today you can bank on that, a troll attacked you Mr Potter so the odds of you getting out of here this week are around nil, your father was the same you know. Jumping of brooms, crashing into cabinets all sorts and yet he expected me to let him waltz out of here with a plaster and a pain relief potion" she told him shaking her head, Harry groaned: a week how was he going to survive a week in this place, the Quidditch game was on Saturday so he should be ok but if this woman was anything to go by she was not someone to mess with.

Later

It was just after lessons when Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Cho and Hermione walked in, Harry was expecting them and luckily Madam Pomfrey did nothing but glare at them disapprovingly. Harry quickly entered her mind and put a block to ensure if she overheard any of this conversation she would not remembers it

"Explain" Draco began curtly "We all told the teachers it was a joint effort but I'm quite sure I saw you try to rip the soul out of a mountain troll". His voice was slightly harder than normal

"Ok" Harry accepted "You all know I was raised by Dementors right". Cho who had only seen a Dementor hug Harry recoiled open mouthed while Hermione looked taken aback

"They do now!" Draco remarked his voice more inviting

"Raised? I thought she a bodyguard or something when I said Mum I was being ironic but you weren't obviously, well I do agree with the equality stuff but really?" Cho questioned shocked

"No raised, I spent four years in Azkaban, I was raised there and have some good memories of the place but no I was raised by Lucy who is a Dementor. For some reason I was also born with the gift to talk Dementors" Harry elaborated "Anyway I also have other traits for reasons I cannot explain, I can fly like one, manipulate emotions, read minds and turn into the hybrid form" his friends shuddered remembering what he had looked like last night

"Which was the black creepy thing" Draco simplified to Crabbe and Goyle

"I found out in a playground a few years ago when a group of bullies were picking on a young girl I was furious at them and turned into a lesser form of what you say and ended up throwing them across the playground, Lucy had to rein me in before I ate them" Harry continued  
"So it's hard to control" Cho realised

"Very, I feel an urge to drain the life force from everyone and it is very hard to ignore; though you lot managed to help last night" Harry pointed out  
"Yes we are brilliant please carry on" Draco commented smiling slightly

"Anyway I was told never to use that power unless there was no other choice and I have spoken to Lucy who agrees a troll attack does justify using it" Harry finished

"So you did it to save me, I mean us?" Hermione asked,

"Yes, I would not have done it for any other reason though thank you so much for not telling anyone" Harry addressed them all,

"I suppose we can forgive you" Draco decided dramatically,

"Though we don't want any more secrets, we are your friends and we want to trust you" Hermione told him sternly

"Well by secrets I think Hermione means if there is anything else you turn into um: Sphinx, Basilisk, Dragon then just give us a heads up. Though lesser secrets you know crushes and stuff you can keep to yourself" Cho corrected

"There are no big more secrets" Harry assured her

"Good" Cho smiled "Though Michal told me to tell you that you need to be at the game, were facing Gryffindor and he wants his new star chaser and seeker, yes I made the team".  
"Well done" Harry congratulated beaming at her

"A round of applause for miss Chang" Draco announced, Cho blushed slightly as her five friends clapped to her achievement

"Thanks" Cho mumbled,

"Ok visiting hours are over kids" Madam Pomfrey began ushering them out of the room  
"Bye Harry" they shouted waving as the door to the hospital wing slammed shut.

Saturday

Harry felt a mixture of things as he looked out on the pitch, firstly he was anxious about flying in front of so many people, also he was angry how the Gryffindor seemed to regard him as a dark wizards since Ron began telling people he used dark magic to defeat the troll, also he felt pressured knowing how much faith Michal had placed in him. Cho obviously seeing his distress squeezed his arm gently, Harry took her hand seeing she looked just as nervous as him

"You ok?" he asked quietly

"Fine" she assured him taking a breath to calm herself, Harry let the second year lean on him for a moment as they prepared for the game

"Ok people" Michal announced causing Harry and Cho to leap apart , the team turned to their captain

"Ok, before today Wood has always had a good chance, but he doesn't have what we have, I've been training with Harry privately because he has a secret skill they don't have, I'm not going to tell you but if someone can get a picture of Wood's face then I will pay big money anyway we also have our new seeker the lovely Cho Chang whom excelled in the trials and I know with the strong support of this team we can win this game and the cup" he began his monologue pointing to the new team members respectively

"Sorry cap" Someone interrupted "But Harry doesn't have a broomstick". A few of the team murmured at this causing Michal to break into a smile

"Let me worry about that" he grinned at them as the curtains to the pitch were opened, with a confident aura Michal walked out to meet Oliver Wood who was standing in the middle of the pitch next to Madam Hooch, ready to shake hands

"Don't know why you bother Davis, you have no chance of beating my team this year" he laughed cockily roughly shaking Michal's hand

"Maybe, Maybe not" Michal replied causing Wood to laugh loudly

"It would take a miracle" he retorted, Michal suddenly smiled devilishly

"I might just have one up my sleeve" he taunted knowingly


	10. Chapter 10

Raised by Darkness Chapter Ten

Draco Malfoy smirked to himself as he saw the team captains walk out to shake hands, he was standing just towards the edge of the Slytherin stand which was close enough to the Ravenclaw one to talk to Hermione but also where the sixth and seventh years sat. He had chosen this position carefully, the Slytherin Quidditch captain was sitting behind and was bragging about how his team would beat both in the next game, arrogant git Draco thought. After Harry's incident at flying class the first years tried to tell people about what happened but older students dismissed the idea saying that it was impossible and denying the very idea that any first year could no such magic. Draco knew better than them all it seemed and he had sat here just so he could see the older boy's face

"Excited" Hermione stated from the other side

"Let's just say I have been waiting for some time to see this" Draco answered smugly as the players began walking onto the pitch, Crabbe and Goyle were stood behind him and Draco eyes widened slightly as he saw Harry. A slight murmur went through the crowd as they saw he did not have a broom

"Dumb kid, probably forgot his broom this is why you don't let first years play" the Slytherin captain remarked causing his idiot friends to laugh, then as each of the player ascended into the air Draco's anticipation built, the seeker and keeper went up first followed by the beaters. Knowing his Harry would go last Draco turned to see the face of his captain turn from arrogance to shock, Harry was lazily rising in the air and Draco took a lot of delight in seeing the arrogant older kids look at his friend in amazement and shock

"What the hell" the captain announced loudly, Draco sighed lazily as a collective gasp went through the students as they realised they should of listened to the first years who witnessed him fly the first time

"Wow he can fly, who'd known?" he proclaimed making Hermione giggle softly. Draco saw even some of the teachers were shocked and saw the normally sneering face of Severus Snape frozen in amazement, Flitwick having seen this all before was chuckling at his colleagues reactions as Harry soared into the air

"Ladies and Gentleman Harry Potter flying with no broom, what will the Gryffindor team make of this?" Lee Jordan was roaring over the crowd. Oliver Wood was looking like he had been hit by several dungbombs and been punched in the face for good measure, his usual cool demeanour went out the window and all of his team looked nervous

"Let the game begin".

Twenty Minutes later 

Harry was having a great time, he was soaring and flying like never before and now knew what it was like to take part in a real Quidditch match, he saw the quaffle in the air being thrown towards Katie Bell and launched himself up and literally took it out of her hands

"Thank you" he smiled nodding to her as he dove down towards the hoops

"And Harry Potter makes another amazing move this time he has snatched the quaffle quiet literally from a chaser's hands; how he is doing all this we don't know but I think..." Lee Jordan commented as Harry launched the ball towards the goal, it bypassed Oliver Wood with ease and while Lee Jordan was still ranting his theories he heard McGonagall snatch the voice piece

"Seven Hundred to a hundred" she barked as Lee muttered something in apology, A lone bludger was propelled towards him and with great effort he caught it in his hands and threw it towards a Gryffindor who dodged in time for another Ravenclaw chaser to grab the Quaffle. Then he heard a cry, he froze and looked around to see Cho trying to grasp her broom tighter as if she was struggling, she looked fine but Harry couldn't help but feel as if something was deeply wrong. Then it hit him, his lie about the Troll had included all his friends overpowering it, he cursed himself. Someone had let the troll in for some reason and he didn't think about it at all, only a staff member could smuggle a troll in and the idea they would allow the students to get away with foiling their plans, no something was wrong but he had no clue as to what.

Meanwhile

"Draco" Hermione whispered, the blond boy was paying close attention to the game and she leaned over and shook his arm

"Oh Sorry, what is it?" he stammered turning to her,  
"And another ten points to Ravenclaw as Harry Potter scores again" Lee Jordan announced

"Look at Cho, she seems like she's having trouble with her broom" Hermione pointed out seeing the girl once again clutch her broom tightly as it moved sharply in the other direction

"Nerves" Draco suggested wanting to refocus on the game, Hermione shook her head

"No you see...Look" she shouted pointing to Cho whose broom had suddenly began shaking with intensity

"Now that is not nerves" Draco stated seeing she was in real trouble, he quickly scanned his memory for something his father had once said

"It's a verbal curse" he announced " it requires eye contact with the target at all times and I doubt any student would know it..." he trailed off wondering who the perpetrator would be, a nudge on his shoulder pulled him away from his thoughts  
"What?" he asked to Goyle who was looking towards the staff box

"Look at Professor stutter" the boy murmured using his pet name for Quirrel. Both Draco and Hermione looked to see the turbaned man muttering fiercely while looking at Cho

"Well come on then" Draco urged helping Hermione over the low wall that separated the stands

"Why do we always end up going to save the girls" Crabbe wondered as he followed his friends behind the stands

On the Pitch

Harry was now very worried, not about the game no he had scored a lot of points and they were in the lead but he could tell someone was cursing Cho. He would of swooped over and grabbed the scared girl who was taking deep breaths as she struggled to hold on, but if he did he might get hit by the curse and if he fell so would Cho. No he was hovering around her while the uncaring Gryffindor's played around him trying to claim as many possible points he was here in case the broom managed to kick her off. Knowing if she fell he would grab her but he risked doing damage to himself and her plus if he did fall then the injury might call upon his Dementor side to heal and that would be very bad. Then he saw Draco, Hermione, Crabbe and Goyle climbing under the teacher's viewing area, obviously they knew who was behind the curse and he hoped they acted soon.

The stands

"Ok what do we do?" Draco questioned as they reached their destination, they were underneath they stand and could see the snarling face of Quirrel as he muttered above

"What kind of curse is it?" Hermione asked taking control of the situation, Draco looked up and tried to read the man's lips

"I can't understand umm... scopee or something" he sighed now knowing the man was speaking in a different language

"What does that mean?" Hermione asked desperately completely bewildered

"Umm I know" Goyle piped up, surprised the group turned on him

"scopae is Latin for broom, remember your dad gave us lessons" he pointed out, Draco did not. His father had many ideas on what a true pureblood should know and after a while just tuned them out

"Broom, that means Harry could help her" Hermione worked out, Draco taking the hint leaned out of the stands and waved his arms to catch Harry's attention. Hermione however took a much different approached and was trying to aim a spell between the Defence Professors legs

The pitch

What the... Harry was even more confused now. Not only was someone trying to curse his friend Draco seemed to be doing a very good chicken impersonation from the stands, his mouth was moving and Harry could not work out what he was saying.

"Room?" he queried "No broom". Working out that Draco was trying to tell him the curse only affected brooms he took action, he launched himself at Cho whose broom was trying to buck her off and grabbed her by the waist.

"Strange tactic grabbing your seeker around the waist" Lee Jordan pointed out loudly, Cho made a noise of protest but Harry lifted her off the broom

"What are you...?" she began frantically before seeing the broom dive-bomb towards the ground, some kind of commotion was going on around the teachers but she was a bit preoccupied

"I guess the curse stopped" Harry sighed, Cho didn't know how to feel. Relived she wasn't on the broom, thankful that Harry had saved her on terrified that she was being held fifty foot in the air. Before she could say anything she could see a glint of gold

"The snitch" she realised pointing

"Is now really the time?" Harry demanded amazed Quidditch was still on the girl's mind

"Yes now forward" Cho ordered demandingly, Harry seeing no reason to argue propelled the girl forward as the Gryffindor seeker soared towards them as he to saw the snitch. Cho suddenly outstretched her hand and pushed Harry's chest aiming him upwards.

"I'm not a broom" Harry protested at being forced around in this way. Ignoring him Cho outstretched her hand and reached for the tiny fluttering golden ball, Cho grabbed it and leaned to the left causing Harry to veer of course.  
"And... And Harry Potter stroke Cho Chang just caught the snitch, Ravenclaw win nine hundred and fifty to four hundred" Lee Jordan announced stunned as Harry landed the two on the ground

"You're a lot easier than a broom" Cho decided grinning innocently with the snitch in hand, and despite everything Harry laughed with her as the rest of the team swooped down to congratulate them.

Later 

"So in summary our Hermione hit Professor Quirrel between the legs with a simple incendio, remind me never to annoy you" Harry remarked as Hermione blushed. They were all walking in the grounds of Hogwarts discussing the match and in particular the member of staff that had tried this

"See after we saved her from a troll using.. you know what and to repay you she saved you from a teacher by setting his balls on fire" Draco summarised causing the girls to laugh and the Harry, Crabbe and Goyle to groan in imagined pain.

"But yes in all seriousness Quirrel is up to something" Harry told them quietly making sure they weren't being followed

"I think we worked that one out" Draco pointed out dryly

"But what?" Hermione wondered "and why take it out on us?"

"Because we stopped the troll, he must of been using it to cause a distraction and we put a stop to that, I think it might have something to do with whatever's on the third floor corridor" Harry explained,

"Probably" Crabbe agreed "But what is it, a weapon or something?".  
"Dumbledore wouldn't be stupid enough to keep some kind of dangerous magical artefact that someone like Quirrel would want in a school is he?" Cho asked. Harry had explained he knew something was wrong with the old man and Hermione recounted her experience in Flourish and Blotts which convinced all of them Albus Dumbledore was not a man to be trusted  
"Maybe" Harry sighed "I think we should take a look tonight".

"What is it with the possibility of death that excites you?, first a troll and now the promise of a slow and painful death" Draco sighed but knowing he was in

"Not sure let's see what it is first" Harry suggested calmly,

"Good idea, if Quirrel is out to get us then it might be an idea to see what he's up to" Cho agreed.

"I suppose" Hermione sighed not too happy about breaking the rules

"Do we ever get a say in these things?" Goyle asked

"Umm... No" Draco responded warmly


	11. Chapter 11

Raised by Darkness: Chapter 11

**This chapter is mainly wrapping up loose ends before we progress with the story, so all those wanting to see Dumbledore and the Dursleys taken down a peg then read on.**

"All rise" Amelia Bones boomed, the courtroom was set up slightly different today with only half a dozen witches and wizards to play the role of the jury during this trial, among them were Cornelius Fudge, Dolores Umbridge and Lucius Malfoy all were looking expectant at the two people who were sat quite calmly in the centre of the room. Looking a mixture of horrified and repulsed Vernon and Petunia Dursley refused to stand

"Rise" Amelia Bones growled, from behind Lucius drew his wand a sight which terrified the couple into standing up, satisfied Amelia continued

"Today's Wizengamot is made up of only a fraction of the amount needed for this trial in the matters of security does the defence have any protest at this. Vernon suddenly piped up  
"Yes I don't want to be tried by a bunch of freaks" he roared angrily,

"SILENCE" Fudge bellowed "there will be no racial or intolerant language in this courtroom regarding any one's magical ability do I make myself clear?". His eye paused on the Petunia and Vernon who nodded eventually.

"Good" he muttered sitting down at his desk, the courtroom was imposing as it should be and he took some delight in watching the abusers tremble knowing they were around so many magic users. Fudge picked up a paper

"The trial of Petunia and Vernon Dursley for the crimes of child abuse, neglect and failure to fulfil duty as guardian will begin, upon request the charges of Assault and Battery against Harry James Potter are to be put on this list and in light of the overwhelming evidence; a number of secondary witnesses may also be tried" he began dryly vaguely referring to Dumbledore

"This is not fair, all you freaks will look out for each other" Vernon spat angrily  
"The court would like to request a gagging order be placed upon the mouth of a Mr Vernon Dursley until he gives evidence in order to ensure no offence is caused during the proceeds of this trial" Lucius Malfoy suddenly interrupted, he knew what these monsters put Harry through and was looking forward to seeing them punished immensely.

"Does the defence have any objection?" Amelia Bones questioned. Vernon laughed; a horrible sight as his chubby neck seemed to writhe as his mouth moved

"You can do what you like... nothing will stop me teaching you freaks your place" he spat, Fudge raised his wand and cast a powerful silencing charm, the fat man began desperately trying to speak but failed.

"The court agrees" Fudge remarked keeping a straight face "Please call the first witness".

"Dementor rank three, also known as Lucy" Amelia Bones announced as the black cloaked creature glided in, Fudge and Lucius smiled respectively at the person who had raised Harry and the defence shivered somewhat in fear

"Thank you, please tell us how you came to meet one Harry James Potter" Fudge queried, a translator was present and over the course of an hour Lucy explained in-depth the events of the forest and the first ever meeting between herself and the Dursleys, the few members of the Wizengamot looked angry as her words were translated and they cast accusing glares at the defendants. All of the people in the room knew of Harry's predicament, they were told specifically for this trial and all were disgusted with the way he was treated and in all honesty Fudge knew they would be found guilty; but they deserved it.

"Does the defence have anything to add to this testimony?" he asked once Lucy had been escorted out of the room

"Yes I do" Petunia spoke up "that monster over there threatened and hurt me and my son and in regards to my nephew well we gave that boy food, shelter and an education, we have done nothing wrong and all that is going on here is that you freaks don't normal people like us treating wizards how they should be". Vernon still couldn't speak but he was nodding in approval at his wife's words. Inside Fudge wondered if these two could make themselves look more guilty that they obviously were; they were doing a pretty good job as anyone in a court room should know you don't call the judge, jury or anyone a freak.

Later

"Next witness please" Fudge requested sounding very bored, he had been forced to endure three hours of both Petunia and Vernon Dursley explaining why they were innocent, all they did was make the fact they were guilty more and more clear and managed to insult the courtroom again and again. But this was the moment he was waiting for, Albus Dumbledore with his head held high walked into the courtroom, both defendants were giving him looks of pure hatred and Fudge wondered who the hell taught them manners;

"Albus Dumbledore thank you for being with us; do you understand that if the Wizengamot believe you have committed an offence then there is the risk of you being tried for neglect and financial manipulation?" Amelia Bones was asking, the old man nodded arrogantly obviously thinking there was no possible way that would happen and Fudge wanted to laugh then and there however he kept a straight face and continued.

"Albus Dumbledore why did you as the acting magical guardian of Harry James Potter consent to him being placed under their care?" Fudge asked quickly, Dumbledore glared at him angrily before  
"It was the right thing to do, he would have been protected by the blood wards around the place and...".

"Albus Dumbledore you do realise that using, designing or participating in any kind of blood ward is an offence of the highest degree, blood wards are considered too dark and illegal due to a sacrifice being required?" Amelia Bones boomed her eyes awash with anger ,  
"I did not design the ward..." he began quickly

"Then who did? we need the name of the witch or wizard who did so they can be arrested and charged for crimes against wizardkind and binding two muggles into a seventeen year contract if broken they will die horrible painful deaths" Fudge asked quickly having done some research into the topic, he smiled quickly when he saw the amazed look on Dumbledore's face

"The court requests that Albus Dumbledore be removed from the witness stand due to his obvious acts of consenting to a blood ward which is illegal and all evidence be disregarded due to inquires being made by the Goblin people about financial manipulation" Lucius Malfoy suddenly interjected , Fudge considered for a moment  
"The court agrees"

Later 

"You freaks can do nothing to us, we are good respectable people and we will not allow your kind to do anything to us! we gave that boy all we could and if he needed a slap every now and then, well that is completely ok, I see no reason you freaks have any reason to arrest us in this way and the idea you could charge us with anything is obscure" Vernon Dursley shouted in a rage, Fudge sighed. This was the closing statement of the defence and it seemed the man had signed his own death warrant... the evidence against them had apparently been fabricated by freaks and it was not real. Even Amelia Bones had given up on them after he had used the world freak for the hundredth time

"Is that all?" the woman in question asked

"Yes" Vernon spat menacingly

"Good, on charge one of child abuse all those in favour of conviction" she began impassively as the wizards in the room raised their hands

"On charge two of neglect". Once more every person in the room raised their hands,

"On charge three of assault and battery" Amelia Bones said finally. Once again the vote was unanimous

"This court finds you guilty of all charges, now if it were up to me you would be spending your sentence in Azkaban prison with the Dementors but due to muggles not being allowed I sentence you to thirty-five years with no chance of early release to High Security Muggle prisons that are available... your son will be sent to live with a woman called... Marjorie Dursley and you will not be allowed to have children after you are released" Fudge bellowed exhausted. The day had been long but seeing the Dursleys dragged out by the Dementors screaming abuse at least was a high point to the day, though the third defendant walked in, he had a look of contempt in his eyes as Fudge nodded to Amelia Bones.

"On charge one of Financial Manipulation all those in favour of conviction". This vote would be harder to win as a few would always support the old man, luckily it was a seven to six vote

"On Charge two of misusing position of Magical Guardian" Amelia Bones spoke again. It seems a lot of people believed his claims that he had no idea of what went on and he was found not guilty by an eight to four vote.

"And finally on charge three; knowing about an illegal ritual and saying nothing to the proper authorities" . This was a landslide victory for Fudge and only one person voted against conviction. However the crimes did not justify a long-term imprisonment

"Albus Dumbledore this court finds you guilty of all but one charge and for charge one a fine of twenty thousand Galleons will be imposed along with the repayments made to Harry James Potter, also we sentence you to twelve months suspended sentence in light of your long-standing contribution to wizard society, we also dissolve all marriage contracts made during your time as guardian for Harry Potter and a full-scale investigation will be launched against you to ensure you have committed no other crimes" Fudge bellowed bringing the gavel down. It was far less than he was hoping for but it was a start, he hoped the investigation would lead somewhere but he doubted Dumbledore would be stupid enough to leave evidence but there was always a chance. But a slight smirk flickered across his face as he realised he needed to tell the press, and there was only one reporter who could do this job.

Hogwarts: Night

"Ok let's do this" Draco decided brightly. Harry, Hermione, Cho, Draco along with Crabbe and Goyle were standing outside a door in the forbidden corridor, they had got in with no problems and had heard a loud rumbling noise from within.

"Everyone ready for a slow and painful death?" he joked as he tried to open the door  
"Let me" Hermione offered drawing her wand,

"_Alohomora". _And sure enough the door unlocked

"Ladies first" Draco offered as Hermione walked in, the rest of the group followed and found themselves in a dark room with a very loud grumbling noise.

"_Lumos" _Crabbe and Goyle lit their wands, Harry did the same but the group immediately regretted it

"Is that a Cerberus?" Cho demanded seeing the beast in front of them, the light seemed to have awoken it and it was sleepily getting to its feet. All three heads were stretching out and slowly six pairs of eyes settled upon its victims.

"I think we should leave... now" Draco suggested slowly opening the door, the dog suddenly began to bark and the group piled out of the room

"Why the hell would you keep a Cerberus in a school!" Harry demanded slamming the door shut

"First a troll and now this what else is in this school... a giant spider? a fifty foot snake?" Draco exclaimed amazed by the very idea that the school would allow a Cerberus inside it.

"It's obviously guarding something didn't you look at its feet?" Hermione interjected

"No we were looking at the three giant heads" Crabbe pointed out as he and Goyle regained their breath, Hermione ignored them  
"There was a trapdoor... you see it's a guard dog" she explained as if it was obvious

"So what's it guarding?" Cho countered


	12. Chapter 12

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 12

Lies, Treachery and Illegal Blood wards; the truth about Albus Dumbledore

By Rita Skeeter

_Since the boy who lived literally flew into our lives the whole wizarding world has been wondering the same thing; what happened to him after his legendary defeat of You-Know- Who. We assumed he was living safely with a good caring home but it looks like we were wrong, as of today the Wizengamot have charged Vernon and Petunia Dursley with crimes relating to child abuse and assault. Are these the people Dumbledore entrusted our saviour with? and more importantly later it emerged that Albus Dumbledore himself was set a hefty fine and a suspended sentence for Finical manipulation and taking part in an illegal blood wards which is a form of dark magic. Is this the man we look up to? the man we entrust with our children. Well this reporter for one certainly disagrees with allowing him to keep his Hogwarts position or who knows what he could do: he could try making more blood wards or do much worse to our children, well I for one want to see him explain these illegal actions and am requesting he agree to an interview to ensure us all of the safety involving every single Hogwarts child_

_For more information on Harry Potter: Page 2_

_Blood wards and dark magic: page 5_

_For the Wizengamot proceedings: Page 7_

"Ok what we know is... a giant three headed dog occupies the third floor corridor, Professor Quirrel wants whatever it's guarding and... that's it, either we need to brush up on our detective skills or we have just won the world's worst investigator award for this year" Draco announced smiling. The group was in the library and with a helpful nudge in her mind Madam Pince left them alone; the topic of this meeting was to work out what the hell was going in their school

"Funny" Hermione remarked sarcastically shaking her head slightly, the group had become accustomed to Draco's dry, witty and very only occasionally funny remarks

"I aim to please" the blond haired boy smiled with equal sarcasm,

"So the question is why, why is a Cerberus here? why is Quirrel doing this? and why is Dumbledore allowing this to happen? he must know something I mean a man led a troll into the castle and no one noticed" Harry interrupted before the two could continue their sarcasm filled banter  
"Good question, maybe their minds?" Hermione suggested refereeing to Harry's Dementor powers

"No I tried, Every time I reach out I'm can feel two different things, one is dark and my inner Dementor tires to unleash itself to protect me and the other is blank, like someone is using Quirrel's mind or attached to it" Harry answered recalling the strange feeling that emerged every time he tried to approach Quirrel's mind.

"Were idiots!" Cho suddenly announced jumping up, she was flustered and was rubbing her forehead

"Well you might be but the rest of us" Draco began, Cho shook her head before he could finish the comment

"Think about it, when that troll Quirrel fainted and obviously legged it to the third floor corridor but why didn't he finish the job? he couldn't have done it because he's still here and looked pretty angry about us defeating the troll, so why didn't he get past the three headed dog? the man can control a troll I think a Cerberus would be like taking candy from a baby. Someone must have stopped him!" Cho explained pacing up and down in front of the group as she racked her brain

"She's right" Harry agreed also connecting the dots "But who?"

"Well um" Crabbe began awkwardly, the whole group turned to face him

"Well Snape's been walking with a limp this week" he pointed out, Draco's face lit up  
"Look at these two, first Goyle works out Professor Quirrel is the one cursing and translates a Latin phrase that makes no sense to anyone else in the world and now Crabbe is solving one of the major mysteries of this case... see we have two smart ones, one powerful one, one genius, witty cool one and two problem solvers I think this is going to work out just fine" Draco remarked beaming at his two friends who sheepishly looked away.

"So Snape's involved what do we do?" Hermione interrupted suddenly, Draco tutted loudly

"It's obvious isn't it, we confront him and see what he knows" he smirked sending a jolt of fear through the group's spines as they envisioned confronting the man

"Or we spend the entire year shyly hiding in the shadows following him and accidentally giving Quirrel a chance to steal this thing" Draco offered up knowing which option made reasonable sense.

Potions

Harry wanted to do this alone, Snape had been going out of his way too much lately to show Harry up and it was becoming ridiculous, Harry understood the man's original dislike of him but to bully a dead man's son in some bizarre effort to get some poetic justice was pathetic. Harry was going to ask him what he knew and try to sort this thing out. And so as the lesson ended and the class went to lunch Harry slowly approached the teacher's desk

"The door is that way Mr Potter, you may be thick but not that thick" was the first thing the greasy haired man spat

"Professor" Harry began respectively

"Potter the door is that way... ten points from Ravenclaw for stupidity...". Harry's anger boiled through, the nerve of the man to refuse a student help or even the benefit of a conversation over what a dead man did over twenty years ago, every light source was suddenly sucked out the room and an icy chill lingered in the air. Snape looked alarmed by Harry spoke first

"Enough!" he demanded the air getting colder with every syllable  
"Potter?" Snape began shocked but Harry cut him off

"This has gone on too far professor! what my father did as a teenager has nothing to do with me, I never said I supported it or condoned it in fact I had no idea until recently" Harry shouted angrily as Snape's face dropped in shock as Harry recited some of his oldest and most protected secrets

"You fell in with the wrong crowd that's your fault and you turned your back on my mother, it was your choices that led to her loving him instead of you and if you had been friendly to her or even civil then she wouldn't have pushed you away. I had nothing to do with her loving him and not you so stop taking out your issues on other people, you repented I'll give you that and you tried to turn it around and that is commendable but enough is enough!" Harry continued brimming with anger as he spilled out all the teacher's secrets and truths he couldn't bear to face, As for Snape there was no hatred in his face or eyes but instead shock and hurt. A tear welled up behind his eye but Harry steamed on

"You need to stop living in the past and face your problems instead of using them to justify what you force on students, you are becoming so much like the teenage bully you faced its unreal" Harry ended and his anger subsided as he saw the man face what he had done over the years for the first time. Warmth and light re-entered the room as Harry stormed out, leaving a shocked and terrified Snape behind.

Later

Albus Dumbledore was sat sulking at his desk, his vault had been frozen now and the goblins were leeching from his fortune that rightly belonged to him. Harry had no need of it but apparently the ministry didn't like him taking it so they began draining him of what he had apparently stolen, his reputation was going to be in tatters and nothing could make this day worse; or so he thought.

"WHAT DID YOU TELL HIM" came the enraged voice of Severus Snape as the potions professor burst through the door to the headmasters office

"Severus?" Dumbledore questioned completely stunned by the man's entrance

"Oh don't Severus me what did you tell Harry Potter! you promised you would tell no one!" was the angered response that left Dumbledore even more confused

"What are you talking about" the old man practically shouted , Snape quickly summarised the events of the day.

"What?" Dumbledore mouthed wondering how the boy could no anything at all about his parents

"Yes, he knew about my past with James and Lily and also said it was my fault for losing her! but the worst thing is..." Snape hissed angrily, then his entire persona changed. The angry ex death eater was gone replaced by a teary eyed broken man who had just come to terms with his life

"He's right!" he continued sobbing slightly, his entire life so far had been nothing more than petty revenge and what made it so much worse was that an eleven year old had seen through it. Dumbledore looked at the normally cold and sarcastic teacher with his mouth forming a perfect O, he never could have even imagined the man would break down like this and more to the point would ever feel remorse over what he had inflicted on students over the years

"I made so many lives hell during my time as a teacher and it was all because of what someone else did to me, I was just trying to make people feel like I did when I was fifteen! and you knew. You let me teach" His last note was one of accusation

"You were coming over to the light and we needed you close to ..." Dumbledore began quickly trying to explain his actions once more

"No Albus you can't spin that on me, no. I don't know how Harry knew this but I already know you wouldn't tell him, I thought you did but your surprise is just to evident. And I know why, you wanted me to bully him didn't you , you wanted to give the boy someone at Hogwarts he would dread. I have no idea why but I can tell you I'm done being your pawn, I will teach but I am going to change, the bullying, hatred and everything else I've pumped my classes full of over the years, no and if you want to ever regain my trust, if you want to explain why you allowed me to teach knowing I would bully then it might help, but I know if you do that then it will lead me straight to whatever you've been plotting over the years concerning Harry Potter and I have no idea what that is and to be honest just so can look you in the eye I never want to" Snape proclaimed glaring coldly at the man he had entrusted so much with, and with that he stormed out of the room.

Library

"A philosopher's stone!" Cho was gobsmacked as Harry explained what he had seen in Snape's mind

"Yes" Harry answered gravely,

"Sorry are they trying to kill us? what is Dumbledore thinking? is his mind like; _hey I've got a great idea, why don't I put a dangerous powerful magical artefact in the middle of a school which practically every Dark wizard would want and also hire a man I've never met before because I get a new defence teacher every year and then entrust this man with the secret. _What a genius" Draco exclaimed amazed

"He has a point, why the hell would Dumbledore trust Quirrel a new professor with this secret, and more to the point why hasn't he put more defences up. A giant guard dog fair enough but open a book about a Cerberus and you have all the information you need to get pas them" Hermione interjected sharing Draco's feelings.

"A very good point but if it's in this school then we need to be careful, imagine what would happen if Quirrel gets his hands on it, and remember where first on his hit list" Harry warned suddenly realising the magnitude of the situation. If they weren't careful then Quirrel would enact some kind of revenge and they were in a school where he taught and that could only mean he had the advantage. He could make his move any time and the only defence they had could lead the total annihilation of the entire school.


	13. Chapter 13

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 13

**This is the closest we're going to get the central plotline for a while so any answered questions will be addressed later **

The school had gone through a surprising change over the last few days, firstly Ronald Weasley had managed to convince almost all of the first, second and third year Gryffindors that Harry was a dark wizard. Secondly Snape true to his word had completely changed his way of teaching, gone were the snide remarks and hate filled glares, now he gave actual help to people who needed it and even dished out a few compliments every now and then, he had ignored Dumbledore's existence entirely and the old man could do nothing to win back his trust. Harry had noticed the change more than anyone else as Snape had not spoken to him since the confrontation; he was scared that Harry knew so much about him but also saw the boy in a new light. Snape didn't want to speak because he had no idea what he would say, he had loved Lily Potter to her last breath but Harry was right . Her death, her choosing James had nothing to do with Harry. Another thing the school had noticed was Oliver Wood's numerous attempts to have Harry removed from the team as he was flying unaided, but even after contacting major officials he was forced to accept it did not violate the rulebook in any way as they had not planned for unaided flight. Quirrel was being watched by Harry and his friends but he made no move towards the third floor corridor or even show any sign he was up to something, so school work had taken priority and as Christmas approached Harry realised they would be more and more distracted. He was going home for Christmas, no doubt about it but he needed to make sure Quirrel would not make his move while he was gone and needed to find a solution and fast. It was this reason he was in the library on this night as he was looking for books on wards or protective enchantments, his friends were in bed and Harry had no intention of waking them up for something so trivial as a trip to the library. Then out of nowhere he heard a voice, it was low and obviously someone was whispering but his heightened Dementor-like senses picked it up.

"It's the perfect trap, the boy will find the mirror and like so many before him will be entranced by it, I will be able to use it as a bargaining tool and he will be under our control before he even knows it" Albus Dumbledore was saying.

"I hope so Albus, we have a lot riding on him being your puppet in this and I need your assurance that it will work" came a reply. This voice Harry didn't recognise but it was deep and mysterious

"Don't worry, him not befriending the boy is only a minor setback, I am confident that once he looks into this mirror then he will be addicted. I've mixed in a spell so I know when someone approaches it" Dumbledore bragged with arrogance flooding into his voice. Harry considered reaching into this mysterious other man's mind but decided against as if he encountered any Legilimency shields then they may find him.

"Good, your plan needs to work Albus, we have waited too long for our comeback and you need the boy to be a pawn for the rise to begin" The other man remarked darkly

"Trust me, with him under our thumb then no one will oppose our plans" Dumbledore assured the man with a chuckle "Now let us get drink it has been a long while since we last spoke...". Harry waited for a few moments until he was sure they were gone, then he slowly entered the room. It was ordinary enough; with stone steps, windows and all the normal apparatus you would see in a castle such as Hogwarts but in the centre of the room stood a large mirror. Harry concentrated and used his powers to devour the enchantment placed around the mirror and slowly he approached it. It was large and framed in some kind of dark metal with the words _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi_ carved into it. Harry marvelled at its beauty for a few moments before looking into it, then he took a step back, he understood why it could be used as a controlling device. He could not see into it for he did not have a human soul, no he saw the enchantment of the mirror, a thousand colours mixing into one orb at the centre, it would reach out into the minds of others and show them their hearts desire. Disgusting Harry thought, an object designed for beauty to be used for oppression and he had no doubt he was the target.

"Your quite easy to follow" came a voice, Harry spun round to see the pale face of Draco Malfoy behind him

"How did you know I was here?" Harry asked suspiciously

"Easy, I know you and the moment you realised the stone might be at risk then you would have gone to the one place in this school that could give you some tips on how to protect it and..." Draco began. Then his eyes fell upon the mirror, Harry could see the enchantment work as a colourful tendril reached into his friend's mind and pulled out what he most desired  
"My father?" Draco murmured suddenly slightly confused "I can see... wow. He's looking so proud". He was in a trance no doubt and Harry shook his shoulder

"What the?" he questioned turning to Harry

"The mirror shows you your heart's desire, it can drive men to madness. Dumbledore was here, he thought he could control me with it" Harry explained

"What you do you see?" Draco asked suddenly. Harry sighed

"Nothing, whatever I am, whatever gives me these powers prevents it from working. I suppose I should be grateful" Harry answered with slight bitterness.  
"Least they can't control you" Draco remarked looking longingly at the mirror

"We should leave it alone I think, it's here for a reason and that reason is control, it's not worth losing your mind over" he instructed sternly knowing the mirror would be appealing to Draco and anyone else who wandered by.

"I suppose" he conceded with a sigh turning his back on the object. As the two walked out of the room neither noticed golden lines of text embed themselves into the mirror

_For Blood and Hate; his heart remains closed _

_For Darkness for Light; evil never grows _

_For the end to be met the truth must unveil _

_With terrible loss and terrible betrayal._

_The darkness falls and recoils _

And in that one moment the currents of time were forever inscribed with the next great prophecy.

The next day

It came to Harry in the very early hours of the morning, the solution to his problem had been staring him in the face the whole time and he had not even realised, the stone needed protection obviously and Harry knew only one man who could do the job. Snape, the man had being doing it before Harry had even known about the stone and while they were away he would be on the lookout, at least he hoped and that is why at lunch he sat with his back to the isle where Snape would walk down.

"Are you ok Harry?" Cho enquired noticing he was on edge

"Yeah... well no you see" Harry began explaining the events of the previous night

"Why would Dumbledore want to control you?" Cho wondered quietly knowing the need for secrecy

"And who was helping him, he has a hidden agenda and his mind is complex enough to keep me out, he has a vast knowledge and his mind is a maze of information" Harry sighed realising there was a lot more going on around this school than me the eye and worse of all it seemed to centre on him. Why he didn't know but he knew he needed to be careful or he might end up falling into their hands but then again it wasn't his biggest concern now.

"So Cho, any plans for Christmas?" he asked changing the subject

"You bet she does" Draco announced practically dancing over from the Slytherin table

"I do?" she questioned bewildered

"No you're not getting married" Draco commented on her choice of words "No you are invited to the annual Malfoy Manor Christmas party". Harry sighed, every year on Christmas eve the Malfoy's threw a huge party and spared no expense . Giant Ice sculptures and fountains of wine and butter beer, food to feed an army and some of the most bizarre entertainment. Harry had attended one last year and had left when a very (very, very) drunk Lucius Malfoy tired to suggest that Lucy and his wife have a private moment with him (In a cupboard). Harry's only response was thank God Dementors can't get drunk, Draco's was how would that work?

"Am I?" Cho murmured as an invitation was forced into her hand, it had the image of a peaceful looking manor which suddenly became draped with ribbons and balloons which flew around the invite.

"Still hanging around with dark wizards Potter?" Came a sneer, Harry didn't even need to turn to know it was Ron Weasley

"And the IQ levels plummet" Draco remarked dryly causing a few students nearby to chuckle

"Are you still doing this?" Harry asked bluntly turning to the boy

"What?" the red head queried  
"I have made it clear many times over the last term that firstly I don't like you, and also that my friends are my business so in other words... get lost" Harry retorted angrily.

"Not until you accept the fact you belong with Gryffindor "Ron snarled.

"Tell me how that works out for you" Harry remarked dryly turning away, Ron looked ready to say something but he was cut off

"Mr Weasley, I believe your house is on the other side of the hall" Snape hissed suddenly. Ron turned to the professor and mumbled an apology of some kind before legging it

"Mr Potter" Snape greeted quickly before walking off, as he walked his pocket suddenly felt a bit heavier. Intrigued he found a note, which must have been slipped into his pocket. His eyes paused on Harry for a moment as he examined the parchment; it simply said

_Watch Quirrel _

Platform Nine and Three Quarters 

Lucy always had a distaste for crowds, and other than Azkaban the group of parents eyeing her with suspicion were one of the largest. She had not expected much else as her kind we seen as evil in the eyes of wizards as apparently they were cold and unfeeling; they were wrong. Dementors had personalities, feelings and Lucy still remembered the day when Harry Potter had entered her heart. Regardless of species he was her son and in one term alone he had accumulated enough trouble to last a lifetime, they shared a bond which meant she could contact him whenever she wished but chose not to. He needed to learn to live without her but a few times she knew he needed her; in this one term alone he had managed to end up fighting a troll, ending a twenty year grudge, saving a girl's life and knowing Harry he did lot more. She was worried about him as any mother would be but at the same time she was proud, he had been able to stand against forces much more powerful than him in the name of justice and righteousness, from saving a girl from a troll, to defying bullies. Harry had been able to change a Malofy's mind about blood purity and even Lucius Malfoy accepted a Dementor as Harry's family. Well when he was sober other than that things got a little out of hand... but even the crowd could not dampen her mood as Harry was almost home. She could sense the train in the distance and she knew that Sirius and Bella could not contain their excitement and not even the Dementor's chill could take away their feelings. Bella had been a shock to Lucy as she was the last person Lucy would think of to accept Harry, he had killed Voldemort and yet she treated him like a nephew , though she saw Tom Riddle in him no doubt and Lucy hoped that whatever similarity she saw would disappear long before Harry became an adult. Suddenly she was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of a horn and before she could even register it Harry was pulling her into a hug

"Hi mum" was all he said as he clutched her tightly.  
"Hello Harry" she replied with love and warmth.


	14. Chapter 14

Raised by Darkness: Chapter 14 

Molly Weasley had been waiting on platform nine and three-quarters for half an hour now, she was not happy. Firstly a few weeks ago her home had been searched and the Aurrors had uncovered a number of illegal love potions that were being sent to Dumbledore, she was arrested and given a huge fine which looked like it would take at least three generations to pay off. Secondly her idiot son was unable to befriend Harry Potter! how hard would it be to make friends with a lonely neglected child. Dumbledore had stopped contacting her and stopped sending her money, she was going to strangle her son if this was his fault. How had one child , her own one at that managed to destroy all of her plans! now unless something was done Harry Potter would never marry Ginny and she would never get the Potter fortune which she rightfully deserved. Then all of a sudden she felt cold, it was familiar to her and she turned to see a Dementor on the platform, its chill was infecting the entire crowd who drew closer together, no one wanted to attack it as the law stated Dementors could only could be repelled if they were causing a problem and the chill was not causing enough of one. Then the train pulled up and the Dementor's chill suddenly receded, she could see Ron in the window and she shot him a dangerous glare but then she saw his eyes were pointed elsewhere.

"Hi mum" a sweet quiet voice suddenly hissed into her ear and she saw Harry Potter hugging a Dementor. Her mouth fell open; on the first day of term she had heard about this but never believed it, a Dementor was his mum !. How had Dumbledore allowed this to happen, it was one thing to keep a boy weak but obviously putting him in Azkaban made him stronger, she thought he had gone to his Aunt and Uncle's but someone must have put him in a prison. How, who and why were the thoughts going through her head as she saw she was not the only person looking shocked, some had seen it before obviously but a few people mirrored her expression.

"Hello Harry, Lucy" another man joined the scene and she saw Lucius Malfoy walking over to the two; so he knew a dark family! how was this possible and Lucius was greeting a Dementor!

"Hello Mr Malfoy" Harry smiled "and Lucy says hello". The boy could also understand Dementors! what the hell was going here, though suddenly she saw a woman with her mouth twisted into delight. Rita Skeeter was looking like she had just been handed a million Galleons, her pen had exploded but the reporter was to transfixed on the scene to care. Oh God no; Molly suddenly realised how this looked. After Harry had been taken to his Uncle's Dumbledore told everyone that he had placed the boy in safe hands, and now it looked like he had given him to the Dementors. This was very bad, she had no idea if it Dumbledore had lied and placed Harry in Azkaban but this was going to ruin him, he had already been accused and charged with taking part in dark rituals along with stealing money and now people were going to think he imprisoned the boy who lived, no this could ruin everything.

Harry on the other hand was paying no attention to Molly and was instead chatting to Lucius while the man waited for Draco

"So Harry are you coming to the party this year? and Lucy is always welcome of course" Lucius inquired politely. He had shown the Dementor a great deal of respect for saving Harry from the Dursley's and commended her methods of restraining them. Also he felt awkward because he drunkenly offered to have a threesome with her last year something which Lucy had done everything in her power to forget and Harry knew she was glad that she couldn't speak or the conversations would be really weird. Lucy did not do much at the party except feed off the happiness, the excessive amount of happy emotions meant she could absorb it but have no effect on the guests.

"I will be" Harry confirmed,

"_As will I" _Lucy announced and Harry translated.

"Good, how was school. Draco mentioned a certain red haired boy giving you trouble" Lucius continued with a hint of disgust in his voice.

"He tried but I doubt he will try anything in the near future" Harry assured the man not wanting him to go into a rant on blood purity. Harry had no time for the ideal but for Draco's sake did not comment on it; how the hell Draco was going to explain he invited a muggle born to the party he had no idea but Harry could soothe things with his powers if they got too out of hand.

"Good" Lucius smiled seeing Draco "I shall see you at the party ". As he left Lucy mumbled

"_It seems you're having an effect on him"_

"How?" Harry wondered

_"When he used to visit the prison before he knew you, he was very small-minded and racist but over the years he has become less and less. He sees you as an equal despite being a half blood in his eyes and he shows me respect. Lord Voldemort saw us as mindless monsters but also allies and during the war that is why we sided with him, he promised us freedom against muggles and souls to devour which we did not want but we wanted more than we had. He has lost a lot of this racism and I think he's having doubt_s on some of the most respected Pureblood ideals" Lucy replied looking at the silver haired man with interest.

"Maybe he is" Harry agreed thinking about it, then Lucy's skeletal hand lightly tugged at his, shadow travel it was then. Harry loved the exhilaration and even though everyone was watching he and Lucy slowly sunk into the shadows.

Azkaban

"Calm down Bella" Sirius sighed from his cell as his cousin paced up and down

"He's back today" she squealed "Without him this prison is well... a prison".

"I know but pacing up and down your cell for an hour won't make time speed up now will it?" he asked sharing her feelings on the matter

"You should be ashamed of yourself" a voice spat, Crouch hadn't shut up since Harry left; always going on about how Bella was betraying the dark lord

"And you should shut the hell up Crouch, he's a boy and had no idea what he was doing when he killed the dark lord, you can see how powerful he is, Dementor magic or whatever he has, well in a few years he could take on the entire ministry and win. Just because you cried in front of your father because you were caught makes your no better than me, I left that courtroom with respect while you cried and wailed as your own father sentenced you to life and now you sit in a cell bitterly like a fool" she retorted furiously.

"How dare you" Crouch begun

"Shut it Crouch" Sirius interjected. However the man did fall silent as in that moment a Dementor swooped in and pointed a finger at him, it was a warning and a clear one as in the next moment Harry entered the room.

"Harry" Bella and Sirius exclaimed together as the boy approached. He beamed at them and Sirius saw Crouch retreat back into his cell

"How are you Sirius? and you Bella?" Harry asked warmly; happy to be reunited with the pair. He shook Sirius's hands while Bella who refused to be obstructed by the bars of her cell forced her hands through them and pulled him into a hug which involved him being pressed into cold metal.

"Oh we're fine" Bella informed him waving her hand "what we want to know is how you're doing at school?". Sirius opened his mouth to protest but seeing as he also wanted to know about his Godson's time at school he did not answer Harry's first question. So for the next hour and a bit Harry began explaining what he had done in school, to his surprise both Sirius and Bella were very happy with him making Ravenclaw and Sirius even applauded when he told them he made the Quidditch team.

"A first year playing for a team, all the greatest players start young; Krum, Jones and all the rest started from an early years" he exclaimed proudly

"And you can fly without a broom which isn't in the rulebook at all so you have a clear advantage" Bella pointed out gleefully knowing Tom Riddle as a boy also made sure he had a clear advantage in everything. Harry knew what comparison she was making and was not happy about it but not wanting to offend his in all but blood Aunt he let it slide. He left out Quirrel in his explanation and thought it was better not to tell the two that a man was out for his blood in the school as it would cause them to worry and also both would try to find a way to break out of the prison and most likely kill the man. He did mention the troll but failed to play down the detail about him turning into his Dementor form

"Rewind you turned into that full form you almost killed them kids with and beat a Troll almost to death?" Bella interjected looking awed that a first year could do such a thing. Harry meekly nodded not wanting to bring back the horror he had felt after realising he had almost drained a creature's life force. Sirius luckily sensed Harry did not want to talk about this and changed the subject,

"So made any good friends?". Harry mentioned all of them and saw Bella remained completely indifferent when he mentioned Hermione, he assumed she would be against the idea but she made no comment. Deciding not to press the matter Harry then mentioned Cho and he saw Sirius look quietly impressed that he had befriended her and after a quick glimpse into his mind found he had a brief relationship with her mother during his school days; something he decided never to mention to Cho. After a while he decided to see Dora and the other Dementors and once he was out of earshot Sirius looked at Bella oddly.  
"What?" she asked in an innocent tone

"You're not annoyed he made friends with a muggleborn?" Sirius asked her knowing she had strong views on blood purity. Instead she laughed loudly; a noise very rarely heard in the halls of Azkaban

"Really cousin? your half blood godson who also is part Dementor is the most powerful person I have ever seen. He can resist the Dementor's chill something which the Dark Lord couldn't do for goodness sake, he can fly, break into people's minds, manipulate them, use wandless telekinetic magic and turn into some kind of super powered Dementor. Please, I gave up on that blood purity stuff when I realised the most powerful person I know is a half blood. Then I noticed that not even some purebloods go along with it, so I disregarded it. I have no problem if he has a Muggleborn friend" she laughed. Sirius was shocked; never did he think that his cousin would throw away ideals taught to her since birth, she was the pureblood supremacist always and yet here she was telling him that she had thrown the idea away. This was close to a miracle and it only took the existence of an eleven year old to do it

"He really is something" Sirius murmured

"He is and I can't help wonder what he's going to be. With all his powers he is still humble, using them when he needs them and not all the time like most people would. He has been given this power and yet he is sensible with it, I have no idea what he's going to be in the future; he could be the next dark lord! or he could be the saviour of this world" she sighed looking towards the spot where Harry just sat.

"What about the dark lord?" Sirius asked wondering if her loyalty to him was affected by this sudden change in perspective.

"Once there was a time I would follow him to the gates of hell and I see bits of him in Harry. His cunning, his intellect but that is all, these skills he has have always led to greatness but Harry is unlike the Dark Lord in every other way. Now I think about it he never cared about any of us, he wanted power and if he ever rises again I don't know if I would take up the call" She explained sadly

"He changed you" Sirius remarked under his breath

"And Lucius, when I knew him he would never allow a half Dementor or a Dementor into his home and now he welcomes both with open arm. He's having an effect on everyone and it seems very few people realise it. He made me see the light and repent, and if he can do that then I think he can do anything"


	15. Chapter 15

**Just before we begin I would like to say thank you all for reading and giving me your ideas. I might do a poll for pairings at some point but keep your ideas coming in. Also if anyone reads the Hunger Games you might enjoy my new fic "Lost" which has Harry getting stuck in District 12 and going to the games. **

**Apple**

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 15

Malfoy Manor was done up and ready for the party, the main hall was lined with tables with a variety of different foods and treats for the guests to enjoy. Wooden figures on brooms zoomed around the ceiling and three moving ice statues greeted guests, the centre of the room was dominated by a golden fountain with fine wine gushing from within. Waitresses in loose clothing held trays of firewhisky and honeyed mead, this was the common layout of the annual Christmas party at Malfoy manor. Already a few guests had arrived and were clustered together freely gossiping as their host greeted the guests one by one. Then slowly a single waving line of darkness rose from the shadows, then another and another until they began to form into Harry Potter and his Dementor mother, a few guests seemed surprised a Dementor was among them but a few had seen both before and gave the boy polite nods

"Harry m'boy" a warm voice greeted immediately as Cornelius Fudge in striking dress robes with Dolores Umbridge in a horrifying fluorescent pink outfit approached them. Harry had never liked Umbridge that much; she was civil but thought only of herself and never anyone else, she may have been one of the people that convicted the Dursley's but Harry thought it was more to do with her earning good graces with the minster more than anything else.

"Evening minister, Madam Umbridge" Harry smiled

"Good evening" she greeted curtly with little emotion on her face. Fudge nodded to Lucy who made a slight bow before telling Harry not to get in trouble and flying off.

"How are you m'boy Hogwarts treating you well?" he inquired with a wide smile

"It is thank you very much" Harry answered.

"No problems from any of the staff?". The question was about Dumbledore

"Not at all" Harry answered truthfully deciding not to mention what he had overheard in the library  
"Good to hear it" Fudge confirmed patting him on the back slightly, Fudge cared a lot for Harry and during the time he had known him Harry thought the man had become a much more competent minister. No longer did he rely on Dumbledore for advice but had come into his own a bit more, well much more compared to what he was

"Well then Harry I hope you enjoy the party but I need to see how Amelia is, it's the first year she's been invited and she barely knows anyone" the man announced bidding Harry farewell and shaking his hand before the pair vanished into the growing crowd.  
"Harry" Lucius greeted suddenly making Harry jump a bit

"How are you Mr Malfoy?" Harry asked politely

"Very well thank you, have you by chance seen the Dailey Prophet this morning?" it was a general question but Harry had a feeling the man was really telling him to check the paper out

"No I haven't, anything good?" Harry wondered, the man smirked slightly

"You could say that, it's one for the scrapbook" he joked summoning a copy of the paper, Harry felt his blood turn cold when he saw the headline

Boy Who Lives calls a Dementor Mum!

"Very good journalist work if I do say so myself, Fudge has been explaining this away all week by blaming Dumbledore who after you vanished told the world you were safe. People are blaming him more than anyone else and the Ministry is going to release a detailed report on it later in the year" Lucius explained. Harry couldn't help smirk to when he realised how badly this looked for Dumbledore, already he had been charged with illegal acts and now he was being accused of leaving the Boy Who Lived with Dementors. His reputation would be in tatters and Harry wanted to shake this reporter's hand

"I of course invited Miss Skeeter here and she should be arriving later" Lucius murmured more to himself than Harry.

"Anyway Draco is outside with Crabbe, Goyle, Miss Parkinson, Miss Chang surprisingly and also... what was her name oh yes Granger" Lucius continued. Harry froze as the words left his lips and wondered how the man took the news his son was friends with a muggleborn

"Glad to see Draco making friends outside the usual Slytherin circles" Lucius murmured, Harry was shocked! he expected disappointment with anger not acceptance.

"I'll have to go meet them" Harry decided completely thrown off guard by the man's casual tone

"Oh please do, now where is that idiot translator" Lucius asked himself scanning the room, deciding to give the man a hand Harry reached out into the minds of the crowd.

"Over there" Harry pointed to a man standing with his head in the fountain, Lucius grumbled slightly and stormed towards him. Now what did he need a translator for? but deciding it really wasn't his concern he walked into the grounds of the manor,

"Harry" Draco called, he was wearing smart casual clothes along with Crabbe and Goyle. He saw neatly brushed blond hair and saw Pansy was wearing a very revealing dress which would me more suited to seventeen year old with a large chest. Obviously the girl's father was still trying to persuade Lucius that her and Draco should be under a marriage contract, obviously he thought making the eleven year old wear a skimpy dress (which even she looked uncomfortable with) and what looked like six tonnes of makeup would make Draco like her more. He really did not like some Pureblood families and it was no wonder the Malfoy's no longer got on with the Parkinson's as much, next to her was Cho who was wearing a flowing blue dress like something you would see on a Disney Princess, she looked good with much less makeup and was stood next to Hermione who had instead opted for a plain red skirt and dress with no makeup. She seemed comfortable in the group and was ignoring the curious stares of Pureblood men and women who did not recognise her; most families knew each other very well.

"Hello" Harry greeted with a slight wave as he got closer to the group "How are you all?"

"Awful, we have had to suffer Pansy giving Hermione and Cho fashion tips" Draco remarked dryly; no one laughed.

"At least some of us have fashion sense" Pansy retorted gesturing to herself and the girls

"At least my dress wasn't attacked by a manic with scissors" Draco chuckled staring at the low cut dress, Harry smiled slightly as Pansy glared daggers at his best friend. It was a low shot but no one seemed to mind

"So how's Azkaban" Draco wondered; beginning a conversation that to anyone else would sound horrifying. Harry explained to the girls who Sirius was and very briefly mentioned Bella; He didn't want anyone mentioning her around Neville who would take it very badly. Bella had briefly mentioned what she had done and her eyes were full of regret the whole time, it made things very awkward around the boy who was always friendly to Harry but every time he spoke of his Gran Harry was reminded of what Bella had said. The two had not spent much time together but Neville was one of the few Gryffindors who didn't think he was evil,

"So you all get free roam of a prison?" Hermione asked not knowing much about wizarding prisons

"No I'm the only one allowed to walk around and everyone else stays inside their cell, most people are alright but I think Lucy would take care of any who weren't" Harry answered briefly thinking of Crouch

"I never heard of nice Dementors until I met you" Pansy confessed

"Why would you? people don't think very highly of them" Harry answered thinking of her family's ideals. Pansy was another one who was once a racist little girl but over time had warmed to a more positive way of thinking, with some help from Harry and Draco.

"Well father hired a translator for tonight, he wants to have a conversation with Lucy and get to know the person he had given guardianship of you more" Draco pointed out knowing his father found Lucy fascinating. The rest of the evening past quickly with the group sitting near the flamingos in the pond and getting rounds of butterbeer from the manor, it was starting to liven up in there and Harry was the only person who got the drinks now as he could easily deal with drunks. He had seen Lucy a few times who was relaxing; she was enjoying the positive emotions and was happily ignoring the glares thrown at her by the less drunk members of the party.

"Disgraceful" a female voice crept through the night, a man Harry did not recognise but he saw Pansy curse under her breath.

"Tell me about it, first the man lets evil into his home but now he's inviting filth" another man spat who Harry recognised. This was Pansy's father and he realised why she was staying quiet

"Then he started talking to that Dementor with that idiot translating"

"Well seeing him in pain made my day, probably a filthy half-blood" the woman cackled and Harry assumed she was Pansy's mother

"Like that Harry Potter, I know Lucius invited him and I was wondering where he is, probably with that Draco, I swear the sooner we marry Pansy off to the boy the better. The Malfoy fortune is one to rival " the man spat angrily. They were getting closer and Harry could feel the anger radiating off the group

"And that other girl we saw, Chinese or something. What is the man thinking! the Chinese have strange blood purity ideas and she could be a mudblood for all we know" he continued

"Forget her, I saw a real mudblood with Crabbe and Goyle's idiot children" Pansy's mother announced disgustedly. Harry was a patient person but the use of the word mudblood made his blood boil. The entire group had been insulted in some way and Harry calmly walked closer to them, they noticed him and he saw their eyes widen when they realised who he was and he had heard every word of the conversation

"I suggest you return to the party" Harry suggested trying to remain calm

"And why should we do what you say Half-blood?" the woman spat,

"Because I'm asking you nicely, I hold you in no positive regard for the way you treat your daughter; you flaunter her like meat in Lucius's face only for him to reject your marriage contract idea time and time again. You also judge on blood but should I mention the three squibs your family produced? if your blood is so pure then why would that happen, you then judge on a culture you have no idea on so leave" Harry ended. Behind him the group looked amazed that Harry had the nerve to speak to a wealthy pureblood in this way and also pleased he was sticking up for them. Pansy was looking at him slightly worried as on one hand she agreed with what he said but didn't want her father taking his anger out on her later.

"How dare you question us, I don't expect you to know anything. Being a half-blood raised with Dementors" the woman hissed before spitting on the floor

"If Malfoy wants to make himself look a fool he can but we will always be better than you! more powerful, more intelligent" the man continued with contempt in his eyes. Harry had lost patience now and raised his hand in the air, before either could react an unseen force threw them to the ground. They didn't even have time for shock to kick in as they were raised into the air effortlessly by Harry

"I asked you nicely to leave, instead you responded with insults but without even looking into your mind I can tell what kind of people you are. By the shock and fear on your daughter's face that is obviously not aimed at me I can tell you are abusive and I have no time for that and could find a way to make you stop, on the other hand your daughter is a friend of mine so I am forced to accept there is no way I can allow you to remember this event or she will suffer" Harry explained icily wanting to get his warning across, then he dropped the two to the floor and plunged into their minds. He created a few memories of them being drunk and a couple more of them passing out before destroying all trace of this meeting, also he put a small trigger in their minds so if they felt angry to the point of them being abusive it would stop before they got anywhere near the girl or any other child. Then with a flick of his wrist the two were asleep

"They won't remember any of this" He assured his friends loudly, only Pansy was amazed as the others all had knowledge on his powers.

"And people that is why we stay away from other families" Draco remarked trying to elevate the mood. However what none of the group knew was that they were not the only ones who had overheard the conversation, another man had followed the two adults into the grounds worried they would start something. Never had Lucius Malfoy expected to see the power Harry Potter had used, with no wand or magical device he had disarmed two of the most despicable purebloods he had ever met, then he had wiped their minds effortlessly. How he did not know but he had just seen everything.


	16. Chapter 16

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 16

**Now I have another question for you the reader; in the chapter there is a reference to a book on becoming an Animagus. Now what should his animal form be and also do you think anyone else in the group should gain this power and if so what animal should they be (Draco, Cho, Hermione, Crabbe and Goyle)**

**Merry Christmas everyone**

**Apple**

Snow was rarely seen in Azkaban prison but when Harry Potter awoke on Christmas it fell from the sky with a passion; coating the island along with the bars covering all windows of the prison.

"_Merry Christmas Harry," _Lucy greeted gliding into the room, she was holding a small wrapped package which he knew was from her. The presents from the Malfoy's and his friends would arrive by owl later in the day,

"Merry Christmas mum," Harry answered. This was the first time he had called her mum on Christmas, he always thought she preferred Lucy but since he returned from Hogwarts their relationship had changed, he realised how much he loved her and also how much she cared about him. She had always been proud and encouraging but he never realised that she saw him as a son until now, they had missed each other during his time away and both knew their relationship had changed. At first she was a guardian then without even realising it she had become a mother to him, she no longer felt any awkwardness when Harry pulled her into a midair hug. For a moment they embraced relishing the bond they shared but then Lucy pulled back and handed him the present

"_Here you go." _It was wrapped well and Lucy had obviously spend a lot of time on it, so as he carefully pulled the paper away a book was revealed, at first he was confused but then he saw the first picture. It was of a younger Sirius waving from a portrait with two other people, one looked much like Harry but lacked the lightning scar and his arm was wrapped around a young woman with long red hair. It was his parents and as he turned the pages more pictures stood out, the first was of four people including his dad and Sirius, then as the pages turned he saw them get older and older until it ended with Lily and James Potter holding a small baby.

"That's me," he remarked with a smile. The pictures had been hand cut and glued onto the pages, this would have taken months with Lucy's skeletal hands but the effort she went to was astonishing. This wasn't it however, Lucy suddenly revealed another package, it was soft and silky and as he opened it a cloak fell out and fell onto the floor in a heap.

"_This was found when the Ministry searched Dumbledore's office, there was a note connecting it to James Potter and you as his son are entitled to it," _Lucy explained gesturing for Harry to try it on. He did father, and he let out a slight gasp as he vanished. It was an invisibility cloak and had belonged to his father; it was a present that meant a great deal to him as it was both a relic of the past and it was going to be very useful.

"Thank you," he whispered softly pulling her into another embrace, this was warm and full of thanks and Lucy felt warmer inside then she had ever felt. Dementor's rarely felt like this; they reproduced with a fine mist but this was a new feeling, and something she wanted to keep hold of forever, this was motherhood for her and she was possibly the only Dementor that had ever felt this way.

Later

"Jingle Bells, Jingle bells," Bella sung over and over again, Sirius was looking unimaginably irritated and even the Dementors were shooting her looks of annoyance. Bella seemed to thrive at Christmas and enjoyed singing more than anything, sometimes Sirius suspected she only did it to annoy as many people as she could and he was right. Harry's influence had done a lot to her and given her some resistance to the Dementor's chill, so in other words she was free to sing and dance as much as she liked, something that Sirius among others did not enjoy anywhere near as much as she did.

"Merry Christmas," a younger voice interrupted suddenly and Harry Potter came into view with a huge smile on his face,

"Harry! Merry Christmas," Sirius greeted as did Bella. Harry spend some times showing the pair the book he had received and while ignoring Bella's requests to add some younger pictures of her into the book Sirius enjoyed the time he spent with his godson. Though this was not the only present he received as a few minutes later a number of owl's entered the room, it was almost a swarm with packages practically raining down on them. The Dementors looked around confused as they could not sense animals that well (Something Sirius used a lot when playing with Harry), parcels lined the floor and Bella eagerly picked one up. It was wrapped in silver and green paper and there was no mistaking who it was from, Harry nodded at Bella who opened the present on his behalf, inside was a book detailing the history of various families in the wizarding world. To Harry the book was interesting for a number of reasons, firstly he had always been fascinated by wizarding history and was perhaps the only person able to stay awake during the lectures of Professor Binns, other than Hermione. Also because it gave him a chance to find dirt on real life families, this was how he knew the Parkinson's had produced a number of squibs, such things were shameful to pureblood families and these titbits of information could prove invaluable in both winding people up and also gaining their help. Fudge sent him a box of Honeydukes chocolate which Harry devoured immediately sharing some with Bella and Sirius, Umbridge sent him another book which detailed the most basics in defensive magic and had only sent it to remain in the minster's favour. Hermione had sent him some sugar-free sweets which he kept for himself, Cho had sent him another book detailing wizarding cultures around the world. Crabbe and Goyle sent him books on Quidditch with one giving a history of the game and the other giving him tips on how to play. Most of these were advanced tips that would be much less difficult for him seeing as he could fly and Harry was determined to try some out whenever he could. Draco had sent him a book on how to become an animagus and Harry had no idea where he found that; it was very advanced magic and required a lot of dedication, though decided to make use of it as soon as he could. A number of other presents involved sweets but his eye suddenly fell on a badly wrapped Gryffindor red coloured package, then he took a breath and using his second vision saw what was embedded in the wrapping. A compulsion charm, if he opened it without knowing then he would have complied with the instruction given, with ease he destroyed the enchantment and already had a feeling who sent it. Excusing himself he hid the package out of sight and once Bella and Sirius were out of view he opened it, inside was a vibrant red jumper with the letter H sown inside. A note was pinned to it and his suspicions were confirmed when he read it

_Harry_

_How about we start over? you're a true Gryffindor at heart and we both know it _

_Ron_.

Harry snorted as he read the note, it was the least subtle attempt at begging he had ever seen, but on the other hand he had to hand it to Molly Weasley. She made a jumper that burnt very well when he practised _Incendio _on it, he knew Ron had only written this because he was being made to but the question remained why? Molly Weasley's mind revealed she would be getting paid for it but is a pay check really worth this much effort? this much desperation? Well at least their desperate effort kept him warm for a few seconds.

Later

Harry and a black dog played in the snow, currently Harry was throwing snowballs at the dog who moved too quickly to be hit, Lucy sensed this from high above the prison and she knew who the dog was. Her sisters had almost no idea but she knew Sirius Black was an animagus, Dementors knew the innocent were sent to this place but they had no way of making the Ministry believe them or explain how they knew. Their chill was a natural part of them and they could not reduce it for long periods of time, so even the innocent were forced to endure the effects of a Dementors presence, the guilty however were a much different case. Dementors would have to see everything the guilty had done, images of violence, murder and worse flooded their minds and in most cases the punishment of the chill was justified. Lucy herself was one of the more resistant Dementors and was one of the few who could stand being in the maximum security area and not see the twisted memories that existed in the minds of the guilty. Dementors were all female and were sisters in a way, that is how their society worked but ones like Lucy were respected for being willing to do what others could not, this was how she was able to bring Harry into their midst. At first her sisters were not happy but over time they grew accustomed to the boy, he was polite and could talk to them which many found fascinating, eventually he was accepted as a Dementor in all but appearance. His gender and blood were irrelevant and many had tried to discover the source of his power, Lucy would stop any experiment she felt could harm Harry but she was also very interested in how he came about these powers. She hadn't found out yet but she had some theories, theories that she had no yet shared

"_I thought I would find you here," _a voice pulled her from her thoughts and she turned to see Dora behind her. The two were high above the prison and masked by the snow; Lucy had chosen this location so she could keep an eye on Harry but also so she could collect her thoughts, this was the place she always went to think and it was her worry that got the better of her on this day.

"_What's bothering you?" _Dora inquired seeing her friend was troubled

"_Harry, when the Troll attacked he switched into his true form, this can only be activated by him and he has only ever done it twice; the first was not his decision to make. Recently he risked everything to save his friends. He could have lost control at any moment and the entire school would now be empty, that form doesn't feed on souls Dora, It feeds on life force, that hunger clouds his mind and it takes a lot of effort to pull away. He risked the lives of many to save a few and while that is commendable I worry that he will do anything to save a friend, it was a friend who stopped him killing the troll and without her interference I worry that he could have gone a lot further. Too far, he is a good person but there is a power inside him, the power is dangerous and he is wise to rarely use it but not using it is not a long term solution. Also I know something is going on at that school but I have no idea what, every day I fear that he will use his inner power with good intent but there will be no one to hold him back, no one to stop him going too far," _Lucy confessed. A skeletal hand was placed on her shoulder

"_You worry too much sister, he may have this power but you must see that he never uses it unless he needs to. If he did not use it then he and his friends may have died on that night, he knows what is at stake and your worry while justified is misplaced. You should not worry about what he might do but instead worry about what others are trying to make him do," _Dora soothed gently. The air was cold and the snow clung to their robes as they began to glide.

"_What do you mean?" _Lucy asked after a while. Dora looked around to make sure no one was in earshot before answering

"_Think about it, given to abusive relatives, isolated from the wizarding world, money being taken from Gringotts, a marriage contract with the Weasley girl, these are not random acts. These are parts of a much bigger plan, Dumbledore could not have managed them alone, others are helping him and I sense something has changed in the very fabric of the world. Someone or something wants Harry under their control and Dumbledore is only one piece of this puzzle, why I don't know but I do know that it will not bode well for Harry"_ Dora explained. Lucy cursed herself, Dora was right she had been so preoccupied by the present and worry for the future she did not see the bigger picture, these acts were motivated by control. A marriage contract would assure loyalty, finical dependency would make him willing to work for someone, isolation and abuse would make him desperate for companionship which would fling him right into the arms of Dumbledore or anyone else who offered it. Now she understood why Ronald Weasley was so desperate to befriend Harry, Ron was a pawn but a pawn that had the power to change the entire game, a game that these unknown people were currently losing but how would they react to what had happened over the last few months? Dumbledore being discredited was a major blow to them and it would not go unpunished. They would react soon and Lucy couldn't help realise that if she hadn't found Harry Potter in the woods on that fateful day then everything would be different and there was a chance that he would have fallen right into their trap.


	17. Chapter 17

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 17

The holidays were slowly drawing to an end; the snow had melted and the year had ended and begun again. Harry's return to Hogwarts was imminent but he had something to do first, he realised the Stone was in danger but also worked out Dumbledore was keeping it in the open. It was too obvious; firstly if you have a powerful magical artefact in your school you don't tell every possible person about it. Quirrel was a new teacher and was given inside knowledge on the school and the stone which could only mean either Dumbledore was an idiot; or Dumbledore was doing it purposely. He had no idea why Dumbledore would want Quirrel to know about it or why he seemed was so desperate to control Harry, he had no idea why but the attempts were blatant; him being at the Dursleys, the marriage contract (He could read Lucy's mind as well), the finical manipulation and the mirror. The mirror was a sick, desperate controlling method but Harry had to admit it was effective, he had seen the lost hungry eyes of Draco and how the mirror reached out for him , if he wasn't immune to its effects then he would have fallen right under Dumbledore's spell.

He needed to know why and that was why late in the night he rose from his bed and walked out of his room; towards the maximum security wing. It took him a bit longer to get there; he had to ensure that Lucy or any other Dementor didn't sense him; luckily most of them seemed preoccupied and didn't notice him slip into the maximum security ward.

"Sirius," Harry whispered lowly , it took a few moments but eventually his godfather woke up

"Harry?" he queried, slightly confused.

"Sorry to wake you but I needed to ask you something," Harry murmured softly. He waited until Sirius was fully awake before asking

"A while ago you said after what you heard of Dumbledore, Voldemort would be the better option. I want to know why," Harry explained. It had occurred to him over the night, Lucy's mind was incredibly difficult to break into. If Dumbledore's was a maze then Lucy's was a bank vault, getting in was almost impossible and she like most Dementors could sense when her mind was being invaded. However he had learned a useful trick, the connection the two of them had opened a tiny little window into her mind, he couldn't get through it but instead could hear what she was thinking if he concentrated very hard. He had found out about the marriage contract in this way and the other things Dumbledore had done; she was worried about him like any good mother would be and had a lot on her mind.

"Why?" Sirius inquired, not wanting to burden Harry with what he knew

"We both know why I want to know, you know what he did to me in the past and I'm betting that you will know at least some of the truth," Harry responded coolly. Sirius nodded;

"Dumbledore put me in here Harry, you see..."

_Flashback _

_Sirius knew where Peter Pettigrew was, Dumbledore had just owled him, he knew Pettigrew was the secret keeper it seemed and asked Sirius to arrest him. Sirius had lost his best friends thanks to the rat's treachery and he was not going to let him get away with it, not now not ever. He was in a muggle village not far from Godric's hollow, so he had quickly apparated near the area and was met immediately by the sight of Pettigrew scrambling into an empty home; perfect. Had Sirius taken time to think about it then he would of stopped; he would of listened to his instincts but instead he was blinded by revenge and even though there was a busy muggle high street very close by he drew his wand and charged into the building. He should of thought it through, Pettigrew was not shocked to see him; faintly amused even but someone else was in the room, _

_"You Killed Lilly and James, YOU BETRAYED THEM," Peter screamed at the top of his voice for some reason he was holding a knife which he plunged down onto his finger and let out a sickening scream, people outside would have heard but suddenly; before Sirius could grab the man he felt something touch his shoulder. It was an aged, ringed hand,_

_"Sorry Sirius; the greater good has to become before all else," the voice of Albus Dumbledore sneaked into his ear. Then a powerful blast of magic sent him to the floor, he could not move, his body wouldn't respond and he was forced to watch as Dumbledore moved forward. It was like watching a snake move, slow and deadly but you knew it had lethal intent. Dumbledore drew his wand, then with no incantation he sent a blasting curse into the high street and within seconds Sirius could hear the screams of muggles as they were engulfed by the flames. _

_"Pettigrew was working for me, he is going to hide now for a long time now but one day he will return. The same cannot be said for you, you will be arrested soon and you will be given no trial. I would advise you to never speak of this encounter again; you will not have the chance and we both know that no one will believe you. Crouch's law means you will not be given a trial because you are a death eater and besides I am the greatest wizard of all time and in a few moments you will be a betrayer and a murderer so who would they believe? ," Dumbledore explained softly as if he was talking to a mere child. Then the treacherous old man vanished into the air and Sirius knew that there was nothing he could do; no one would believe him and even as the curse holding him vanished he was hit by another one. The aurors had arrived; and his chances of freedom had gone._

Present

"Dumbledore imprisoned you," Harry summarised looking shocked, he had never imagined the old man would do something like that but it answered a few of his questions; he had a plan and a big one if his reference to the greater good was anything to go by; also he had wanted his mum and dad dead. Sirius had told him of Pettigrew's betrayal long ago and if Dumbledore was controlling Pettigrew then it would answer why he betrayed his supposed closest friends. Despite the implications of this knowledge Harry was slightly excited for this was also a chance to free Sirius. If Pettigrew was still alive then it would clear him completely and if that happened then the world would be very interested to know that Dumbledore was the guilty party in regards to the muggle massacre. Sirius however knew what he was thinking

"Don't go hunting for Pettigrew Harry, Dumbledore will be keeping an eye on him and you don't want to go up against him," his godfather warned. Harry knew he was right, it would be a wild goose chase more than anything but something about the story had made him rethink something else; he didn't know what but something was unhinged in his mind. Finding out what; was the problem.

Two days later

Harry and Lucy once again made their way through Kings Cross station, she was invisible and as always was restricting her chill but she seemed worried. Harry had only just noticed it as he was busy thinking about Sirius; he had not mentioned or even acknowledged the conversation they had. Harry hadn't mentioned it either out of respect for his godfather; it was obviously not a pleasant memory for Sirius and didn't like talking about it.

_"Are you ok?"_ he asked through their connection, they had not used it in a while to talk but her response was speedy.

"_Fine, don't worry I just feel a bit strange," _she answered telepathically. Harry could understand why, she was sending her son to a place ruled by the very man she considered her enemy and a threat. She was entitled to be worried and scared but she still thought he knew nothing about Dumbledore's manipulations.

_"You've been using the connection to read my mind!"_ Lucy suddenly exclaimed inside his head

"What!" Harry said aloud not thinking about where he was,

"_The connection works both ways, you thought about Dumbledore's manipulations, you've been reading my mind" _she answered. She was not angry per say but she was not happy about him doing it

"_You were reading my mind!" _Harry announced realising what she meant by it works both ways.

"_I'm your mother!" _she responded. It took Harry a few moments to realise he was in the middle of a muggle train station and was putting on a bit of a show; quite a few people were looking at the boy who seemed to be talking to himself.

"_You still can't just read..." _Harry began but trailed off realising that he couldn't have a go at her, he read people minds for the hell of it a lot but it was different when someone was doing it to him.

"_Ok, it looks like we're both in the wrong here so how about we agree to not read each other's minds for now," Lucy _suggested eventually_. _Harry nodded

"_So how much do you know?" _she asked realising he knew everything she was trying to protect him from. Harry using their connection told her everything; the marriage contract, the vault, his relatives and the mirror. He needed to trust her and maybe she would be able to cast some light on his predicament

"_What_?" she questioned after he explained what he had overheard

"Calm," he advised quickly. He didn't want her getting angry, instead she grabbed his hand

"_I can't send you back there_!" she announced frantically. Harry pulled her into a nearby janitor's closet

"Lucy you have to calm down. I'm fine, Dumbledore can't hurt me, the mirror wouldn't have worked," he soothed.

"_It doesn't matter_," she protested.

"It does, think about it what will be worse? me turning up for Hogwarts pretending to be the ignorant child Dumbledore thinks I am, or I don't turn up at all and do damage to his plans?."

"_I suppose you have a point," _Lucy sighed after a while "_I'm not happy with it though,"._

_"_Neither am I, but you can't protect me from everything," Harry smiled.

"_I shouldn't have to protect you from this, I prepared for bullies, enemies, girls even but this is not something I'm comfortable with. I don't want to send you to a place where someone inside is trying to control you," _she retorted.

"I know, and you have been the best mother to me in the world, and you always will be but you're going to have to trust me on this. I can handle it," Harry assured her. He wanted to go back; he had his friends, his future within the castle and he wanted to face it. Lucy thought for a while

"_Fine,_ _I suppose your right, you are right even. But promise me something," _she responded after a while.

"Anything," Harry responded secretly relived. Lucy's skeletal arms suddenly wrapped around him and she pulled him into a hug

"_Be safe, be safe my son, please be safe," _she whispered into his ear. Harry nodded; he was right to tell her about what he had heard, and if anyone could find out who the masked figure was then it was her but at the same time he felt bad. He had dragged her into a conspiracy he knew very little about and also he was still lying to her; he had not told her of the stone or Quirrel because if he had then he knew there was no way she would let him return. She was his mother but Harry wanted to protect her as much as she protected him but if he didn't return then Quirrel would have his revenge on his friends and it would be his fault, sometimes he had to lie to keep the people he loved safe.

Meanwhile 

Cho, Hermione and Draco had just met up in the station, they were chatting away seeing if they could spot Harry when they saw him emerge from a cupboard. Lucy; his Dementor mum also left and the three wondered what he had been doing, Draco began to formulate a witty response

"Draco you make a single sick comment about them being alone in a cupboard and I will kill you," Cho warned knowing Draco all too well.


	18. Chapter 18

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 18

Harry Potter walked through the Hogwarts Express; the train was moving now and he was looking for his friends; they would most likely be in the same carriage as before but it was still worth checking. Lucy had seen him off and hugged him again, everyone still looked shocked but she had made him promise again to be safe again. He promised but with Quirrel and the Stone just how safe could he be? He had seen Molly Weasley eying him; hoping that her flimsy enchantment had worked, Harry would need to be very careful in the future as she would undoubtedly try again when she realised it didn't.

"Harry," a familiar voice cut through the air; great this could only be one person and he really did not want to hear them right now, or ever.

"What do you want Weasley?" Harry snapped; having no time or patience with the boy today, Ron looked taken aback by his attitude. Obviously he was under the impression the compulsion charm had worked; well Harry was going to prove him wrong right now.

"Didn't you get my owl?" he wondered hoping Harry had not somehow resisted the effects of the enchantment placed on the package.

"Yes and the present, they both made very nice burning materials, now scram," Harry replied coolly, after what he and his mother had tried to do he had no time for the boy. Ron looked crestfallen and also worried, but Harry no longer cared; instead he was busy looking for the right carriage and also responding to the many greetings he received. Most were from fellow Ravenclaws but a few were from Slytherin and Hufflepuff; almost all the Gryffindors except a few still believed he was dark but Harry put them out of his mind. However as he walked through the long corridor of the train he realised he was being followed; he had no idea who but he wanted to find out. Whether friend of foe, two people were following him. So he led them on a wild goose chase to a quieter part of the train and as he did not have his cloak on him, he instead manipulated the minds of those around him so he seemed invisible

"Where did he go George?" Fred Weasley asked perplexed, not many people were around but a few nodded and smiled to the two well known pranksters. However Harry reached into the minds of the people surrounding and they suddenly were struck by the strange desire to walk back up the train or go inside a compartment. Once the last sliding door was shut and all but Fred and George Weasley had gone he heard;

"That's a good question Fred," George replied also slightly confused, Harry thought for a moment. On one hand he didn't have the greatest relationship with the Weasley family but on the other hand he didn't know these two and for all he knew they could be nice people; if he judged on family then he would be no better than the Parkinson's.

"Here," he answered suddenly appearing in front of the two, they jumped back surprised and Harry suppressed a snicker as he frightened the most competent pranksters in the school.

"How did you?" Fred begun but before he could finish his twin began to laugh

"You got us!" George exclaimed happily as Fred slowly began to chuckle

"Looks like we might have a little Prankster in our midst," Fred smiled after a while , the initial shock had worn off. For a moment the two chuckled away until suddenly their tone changed from fun to business like, obviously they wanted to talk to him and Harry got the impression they wanted him for something else as well.

"Anyway we the cool kids of Gryffindor,"

"The Pranking Princes of Hogwarts"

"Charmers and Geniuses in our field"

"Would like to apologise on the behalf"

"Of most of our idiot house and also,"

"Our idiot brother who is and always will be,"

"A prat," the two said simultaneously, Harry was slightly taken aback by how fluently they spoke together, must be a twin thing.

"Thanks, it's nice to know not all Gryffindors think I'm a dark wizard," Harry replied with a smile, he quickly delved into their minds and found they had no idea what their mother was up to.

"Not at all, in face most of don't; in fact a few think your normal"

"Which we all know is wrong but we know you're not dark," the twins joked and Harry tutted at the backhanded compliment.

"Anyway Harry we were wondering if you could give us a hand with something, we've got say a prank of some form coming up but we would me most grateful if say someone who could fly would be involved," Fred explained suddenly, his tone once more businesslike,

"Depends who and what are we talking about?" Harry wondered, he was tempted obviously but needed to know what they were actually planning first.

"Well we have pranked a lot of the teachers over the years but we haven't got around to Dumbledore yet, I mean we've done everyone else but we had an idea you see Harry we thought..." George began whispering in Harry's ear. As the explanation went on Harry felt like this would be something he would like to do very much, very much indeed.

Later

"Harry," Hermione greeted happily, they had been waiting for him for almost half an hour and they were beginning to wonder if they should send someone to look for him, luckily he had just walked into the compartment and she saw the Weasley Twins walk past. Hermione cast a look at Cho who had seen it too, they gave one another a look that said _This isn't going to end well _but decided not to mention it, at least not yet. If he wanted to get involved in a Weasley twin plot then it would give them all a few seconds of humour; before it went wrong.

"Hello everyone, how're doing?" Harry exclaimed happy to see his friends again. He had last seen them at the Christmas party and the end of that was spent explaining the ludicrous ideas on blood purity to Hermione who had not understood the mudblood insult. After it had been explained to her then she was even more grateful to Harry for sticking up for her. Cho had known about the small mindedness of wizards; it had been explained to her before but she didn't blink at the suggestion she was a mudblood; firstly she wasn't and the insults of the Parkinson's really did not bother her and secondly she was too busy thanking Harry for helping her to care.

"We're all good, now we were wondering what you and your," Draco began slyly obviously wanting to make a comment. Cho however was sat opposite him and she leaned forward so she could punch him in the shoulder

"No!" she warned shaking her head, Draco looked like he was going to protest but Cho's threatening gaze made him think twice. Harry for his part decided he didn't want to know what Draco was going to say and instead took the seat next to Hermione.

"Ignoring Draco, who won't be living much longer if he makes the comment I told him not to make how are you Harry," Cho asked sweetly, giving Draco another glare. The blond haired boy shrank back into his seat but Harry decided to ignore him; perhaps it was better if he didn't know what they were talking about.

For a while the group talked about what they had done over the holidays; there were some funny stories as well as exciting ones, luckily it seemed like everyone had enjoyed themselves. However slowly the conversation turned to Hogwarts and in particular Quirrel;

"So what are we going to do, should we tell a teacher?" Hermione wondered aloud

"No!" Draco declared "We have no evidence and if Dumbledore wants Quirrel to steal the stone then he's not going to help us at all,".

"This makes no sense, why go to the trouble of protecting the stone if you want someone to steal it," Cho wondered. She had a point and Harry had been pondering that very question;

"Maybe he doesn't want him to steal it, maybe he just wants someone to have a go at taking it," Crabbe suggested. Harry looked up; that made sense, if he wanted Quirrel to try and steal the stone it would explain a few things. It made more sense than any of the answers he had come up with

"Good idea, but why Dumbledore would want that to happen is another question," Harry countered.

"I say we keep an eye on him, all we need to do is set up one of those detector wards around the door and we will know if someone goes in," Draco announced.

"Not a bad idea but can anyone do a ward that will last a long time?" Cho asked,

"All of us, we could all cast part of the spell and that would make it last a long time and also alert us all when Quirrel goes in," Harry nodded thinking it through.

"Ok, we have a plan now what are we going to do about the whole Quirrel trying to kill us thing?" Draco wondered aloud.

"That's simple me and Cho worked it out already," Hermione answered reasonably.

"What did you come up with?" Harry wondered.

"Don't die," Cho responded grimly.

The next day

It was night and the halls of Hogwarts were dark and empty; however not completely for Harry Potter and his friends were stood around the entrance to the room containing a Cerberus. They were going to make a ward and Harry had spent the previous day trying to work out which ward would be the best. He had decided on one that would just alert them if someone entered the room as it would give the whole group time to meet up quickly and stop Quirrel.

"Ok, I know the incantation so you lot channel the magic around the area," Harry requested, his friends extended their wands and quickly Harry could feel magic in the air. He drew his wand, he muttered an incantation and a circle of purple surrounded the door before vanishing, if someone entered the room it would ensure the group knew about it, all of them as their magic had been combined. However it seemed they were not the only ones up and about, because as they turned to leave they heard voices. In particular the voice of Ron Weasley and two others

"What are they doing up at this time?" Harry mumbled. This was strange; they seemed to be heading towards the main entrance

"No here's the question do we follow them or not?" Draco inquired softly. Harry thinking about Dumbledore's manipulations and how the Weasley family was involved decided they needed to, so the group slowly made their way out of the castle. There were hit by cold air but Harry was more focused on Ron Weasley and his friends  
"Why are they going to Hagrid's hut?" Cho wondered; Harry had only met the gamekeeper once and that was very briefly but he seemed nice enough. Harry wondered why Ron Weasley of all people would want to see Hagrid in the middle of the night

"That's a good question." Harry mumbled; as far as he knew these lot did not know or were friends with Hagrid and there was no need for them to be going to his hut during the night , then they dropped to the ground as if they were hiding.

"What are they doing?" Hermione sighed, it was like watching a pantomime where the dumb villain would act stealthy, the difference was this lot were not acting they were just dumb. Harry crept around the side as they approached the hut, he was confused and interested but suddenly something appeared at the window. Now he understood, Ron Weasley had brought his friends here to see something, how he knew about it he had no idea but sure enough at the window Hagrid was holding a dragon.

"How do we get involved in these things?" Draco sighed.


	19. Chapter 19

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 19

"Why do we get involved in these things?" Draco sighed; two nights ago the group had discovered the existence of a baby dragon that had been identified as a Norwegian Ridgeback, why Hagrid thought he could keep a dragon in his hut was something else entirely. Only Harry and Draco had gone to see Hagrid; if everyone went then it would be slightly suspicious, also neither the girls or Crabbe and Goyle wanted to be in the same room as a dragon.

"Because neither of us want the school burnt down?" Harry suggested as he knocked on the hut's door, the evening was cool and a slight breeze caused the plants to shiver and people to seek warmth. That was the reason no one else was in the grounds and that meant it was unlikely Harry and Draco would be seen by prying eyes.

"Hello," Hagrid greeted but was taken aback when he opened the door to see Harry Potter of all people with Draco Malfoy. Harry smiled at him

"Hello Hagrid we need to talk," He announced politely

"Is summat the matter?" Hagrid wondered; he did not know Harry well and was slightly put off by the presence of a Malfoy; it seemed prejudices worked both ways.

"Yes, it's about the dragon you have in your hut," Draco replied somewhat dryly but not disrespectfully

"Dragon!, who's gotta a dragon?" Hagrid inquired feigning shock and wonder,

"You," Draco answered "We saw it through your window the other day,"

"You've been spying on me?" Hagrid declared angrily,

"No, we were following Ron Weasley and he was the one doing the spying thank you, no we're trying to help you before Ron tries to blackmail, bully or get your fired," Harry answered knowing a person like Ron would take delight in having power over someone. He saw reluctance in the giant's eye but eventually Hagrid conceded.

"I suppose you better come in then," he sighed knowing that his secret was now out in the open , he moved to the side so the two could enter and Harry looked around. It was small but at the same time it was cosy, a warm fire, a bed, it was definitely comfortable if nothing else. Harry took a seat at a table and Hagrid wanting to remain polite offered him a rock cake, it was hard and slightly burned but Harry ate in any way. Then Hagrid revealed the dragon; it was small but Harry knew it would grow much bigger in a few days; it was dark scaled and looked up at Harry curiously with wide yellow eyes. Obviously it knew that what it was looking at was not entirely human;

"I've decided to call him Norbert, he knows me really well now. Look; Norbert! Norbert! where's mummy?" Hagrid called wanted to show how friendly and peaceful the dragon was

"A man who enjoys being a mother to a dragon, Harry I think we've entered a maniac's home," Draco muttered under his breath; Harry did not laugh but knew his friend didn't really mean it; however what Hagrid was doing was very strange. Harry watched as the giant continued to play with his oversized pet before asking

"Where did you get him?" it was a good question; the breeding of dragons and the trading of dragon eggs was illegal. Looks like that book on Ministry Law Fudge sent him his birthday actually had some uses

"I won him off a man in the Hog's head," Hagrid answered truthfully "We were playing cards and he was asking about animals; I mentioned fluffy and how music puts him right to sleep and then I said how I always wanted a dragon. So he wagered a dragon egg he got and I won; then we spent the rest of the night talking; he was really interested in fluffy." Harry had no idea what Fluffy was but was slightly perplexed as to who would walk around with a dragon egg on them, it made no sense.

"He's getting a bit big," Draco commented looking at the creature who was walking around the table; obviously interested in something.

"Yeah, should be even bigger in a month, not sure where I'm gonna keep him; maybe the forest," Hagrid mumbled talking more to himself than anyone else. Harry sighed; the giant was already attached but he was concerned about two things; firstly a dragon being in the school and also the fact Ron might use what he knew to hurt Hagrid in a way.

"Dragons aren't very good pets," Harry commented

"Maybe not all of them but this one's ok," Hagrid chuckled thinking Harry was worrying for nothing.

"Norbert's a lovely dragon it's just you are next to a school and Dragons to grow very big," Harry explained knowing he needed to find some way to convince Hagrid to part with this dragon. It wasn't safe and dragons didn't belong in captivity

"Yeah but he's got nowhere to go," Hagrid pointed out knowing what Harry was getting at.

"There is somewhere," Draco pointed out; he and Harry had spent the entire night researching it

"Where?" Hagrid wondered, he didn't want to part with Norbert but he knew the dragon was getting a little big and couldn't stay hidden forever.  
"There is a place, a sanctuary per say why lots of Dragons are kept. Norbert would have lots of company, food and also people to help her. It's run by Charlie Weasley," Harry explained. The name had been inside Ron's mind which Harry was reading from time to time; just to check up on things, but Harry had found out his brother worked with dragons. He had already contacted the man and it seemed Fred and George weren't the only Weasley's exempt from their mother's plans. No instead when Harry had mentioned a dragon might be near the school he had offered to come and collect it; however before he could organize the Dragon leaving the school he needed to persuade Hagrid to part with it.

"I liked Charlie, liked him a lot, great with animal," Hagrid commented, then Harry heard something. Well felt something would be the better phrase; he had felt nothing like it before and more importantly it was not a human feeling. His inner Dementor was pulsing as if it was growing in strength;

"Are you ok?" Hagrid asked seeing Harry had zoned out of reality.

"Fine," Harry began, then the dragon hissed and in a blur rocketed out the window and a loud yelp sounded. Hagrid was alarmed and grabbed his crossbow; obviously hoping to protected his dragon but Harry somehow already knew who it was; Ron Weasley. The name had come to his mind naturally and Harry had no idea why or how, what he did know was that this type of dragon was venomous

"Get off," Ron was screaming as the baby dragon sunk its fangs into the boy time and time again. Harry conjured a wave of energy and blasted it to the side. Hagrid ran to the dragon and began comforting it while completely ignoring Ron

"That thing bit me!" Ron exclaimed as he cradled his injured hand

"You were spying on us," Harry pointed out ignoring how ironic the situation was. They had been spying on him not forty-eight hours ago and Harry was lecturing people about doing it.

"It bit me!" Ron roared ignoring Harry completely

"It's poisonous," Draco remarked simply; as if he was talking about the weather; Ron for his part then began rolling around the on the ground; howling like a madman. Harry sighed

"A very low-level venom that can be treated by Madam Pomfrey." It took another five minutes before Ron finally calmed down, Harry gave him no sympathy but saw him run back the castle; obviously he wasn't stupid enough to not get his hand checked out. Hagrid was still cradling his baby dragon but looked slightly less sure he could handle it all on his own.

Later 

It had taken three weeks to finally get Hagrid to decide parting with his dragon was for the best; Harry had taken the baby dragon tonight and after the giant tearfully bidding Norbert goodbye and giving him his favourite teddy bear Harry was off. Charlie Weasley was supposed to meet him at the top of the astronomy tower but Harry still had to get past prefects; teachers and Filch. This was why he had chosen not to bring anyone else along; he could remain hidden with more expertise on his own and good fly, manipulate minds of use his invisibility cloak to sneak past anyone around. However deep down he thought something was off; but he was more focused on getting a now two foot dragon out of the school. He had put it to sleep after a while; it was squirming and hissing so Harry decided to save himself the trouble of calming it down. There was no time, so here he was, the tower was inches away when he heard something. The cloak was already around him but he moved himself to the side as a McGonagall appeared; she was pulling someone else along by the arm as well

"But miss! Harry Potter is here and he has a dragon," Ron was saying; Harry should have known he'd try something like this. He must have found out somehow or more likely he had been watching the dragon and saw Hagrid was getting ready for it to leave. How Ron knew was not his problem and he waited until the two were far enough away before continuing

"In all my years I have never heard a story as ridiculous as this, you should be ashamed of yourself Mr Weasley; now fifty points from Gryffindor and if you get out of bed again on any night then you will have a months detention as well," McGonagall fumed; her voice echoing around the empty corridors, Harry snickered slightly, it was slightly funny watching someone trying to outsmart him.

Meanwhile 

Draco was sat in the common room; he had given up trying to sleep, he was worried about Harry, the dragon and also was in deep thought. Something was nagging at him but he couldn't place what; Harry was smart but Draco had a feeling only he could work this out, something someone had said. What was it?

"Draco!" Goyle greeted looking slightly confused as to why one of his friends was up so late in the night. He knew about the whole dragon business and had been part of the team trying to convince Hagrid to give it up over the last three weeks.

"Hey Goyle," Draco greeted; he wasn't really in the mood to talk but there was no point in turning down company,

"What's wrong?" Goyle wondered after a while.

"No idea," Draco responded truthfully, he had no idea after all "I just can't help feeling like I've missed something, something someone said." Goyle looked thoughtful for a few moments

"I can't think of anything," he announced. Draco was about to make a comment but he decided against it; he was tired and Goyle was only trying to help; then his mind began to flicker. He remembered something else he had said over the day; oh yeah that harp on the sixth floor was gone. _"Now who in their right mind would steal that old thing? it only plays one tune," _  
"Hang on," Draco murmured, the harp was gone. That must have something to do with it; so had anyone said something about music to him; oh yeah three weeks ago.

" I mentioned fluffy and how music puts him right to sleep," Draco repeated wondering why that was relevant,

"Fluffy? Isn't that a dog's name?" Goyle murmured not really knowing what Draco was talking about,

"Yes it is..." Draco began but trailed off... music... dog...harp...sleep.

"He's going after the stone tonight," Draco announced suddenly jumping to his feet

"What?" Goyle exclaimed

"Quirrel! he's going after it tonight, get Crabbe we need to get ready before he sets the ward off," Draco announced finally working out what had been bothering him. Fluffy was the name of a dog and Hagrid already had one dog; the only other dog in the school that would appeal to Hagrid would be the Cerberus. So if a large instrument that would be hard to hide vanished it could only mean one thing; Quirrel was on the move.


	20. Chapter 20

Raised by Darkness: Chapter Twenty 

**I would like to thank you all for your continued support and all your follows and reviews; The pairings for Harry are down to three now, **

**Harry/Cho**

**Harry/Daphne Greengrass**

**Harry/Luna **

**I would love to hear your opinions on who you think Harry should be with from this list**

**Thanks **

**Apple **

It was a few moments after Harry left the astronomy tower when it hit him; he had just given Norbert to Charlie Weasley when suddenly his mind felt as if it had walked into an invisible brick wall. It didn't take him long to connect the dots; the ward had been breached

"Quirrel," he whispered; he was alone in the tower and it would take too long for his friends to wake up let alone make it to the third floor corridor; this was the moment he had preparing for and it looked like he had to do it alone. He was a long way from the third floor and it looked as if Quirrel had one hell of a head start; but he wasn't counting on two things; he didn't know Harry knew he was going after it nor did he know about Harry's powers. There was one way he could get there quickly; he looked back up the steps of the tower

"This is crazy," he sighed loudly, but he began to climb anyway and soon enough he was in the tower; it was silent and Charlie Weasley was long gone; that was a plus seeing as what he was about to do was insane. The Astronomy tower overlooked the castle and beneath it was an entrance which would lead him to the grand staircase, however that was at the bottom and he was at the top; it was a long way down and this would be the tallest thing he had ever flown off; though in comparison to the stairs and halls this would be a much quicker way down. Harry sighed and cautiously stood on the balcony, he climbed up on the railing and looked down; it was a long way down and he needed to pull up at the last second or… _splat._

"Why am I doing this?" Harry asked himself; Quirrel might be a threat but did Harry need to jump of a tower; he had leapt from the roof of Azkaban once but it was a lot harder to pull up with the amounts of kinetic energy that built up during the jump. Lucy had saved him that time but she was bit too far away to help now; however these thoughts suddenly vanished from his mind as he swan dived from the balcony and towards the ground. Flying was fun but this felt like pure adrenaline as the wind stung his face and clouded his vision; at first it was terrifying but then he began to enjoy it. He allowed himself to fall until he could just make out the ground; then he thrust his neck and body upwards until he had manoeuvred himself into standing position, he touched the ground lightly with none of the force he had on the way down which was one hell of achievement. However he didn't have time to enjoy the adrenaline pumping through his veins nor did he have time to comprehend what he had just done; he had never jumped off a building like this, nor did he allow himself to fall but this time he did. It was like extreme bungee jumping; very extreme.

Later

"Come on," Draco urged, the moment he had worked out what was going on he had grabbed Crabbe and Goyle and they had sped towards the Ravenclaw common room. Surprisingly there was no password just a riddle which Draco answered with ease; some security this house had; the girls were in separate rooms and neither were particularly pleased to wake up with Draco, Crabbe and Goyle around them. It had been difficult to ensure their roommates had stayed asleep but luckily the three could be quiet when they needed to be; something Hermione and Cho found disturbing seeing as the boys were in the girl's dorm.

"I am getting a lock for this room," Cho had vowed after they had explained what was going on; however they weren't angry for long seeing as the person they knew hated them was trying to become rich and immortal. Seeing as they were pressed for time the entire group were wearing nothing but their pyjamas and in the girls' case dressing gowns, both had dared Draco to make a comment but explained if he did then certain areas could be lost to a _stray_ and _accidental_ curse. So far Draco had refrained but mostly because they were now half running-half sneaking through the corridors

"How long will it take Harry to get here?" Cho wondered aloud knowing he was the one they wanted facing Quirrel; he had the power and skill while she and Hermione had the brains. Draco provided terrible comedy and Crabbe and Goyle were the ones who gave the group a new perspective on things.

"Not sure the Astronomy tower's the other side of the castle but knowing Harry he will have found a way to get here quickly," Draco answered knowing his best friend well.

"Wait there he is," Hermione pointed out suddenly; Harry was soaring up the grand staircase while they were going down it, Draco was confused for a moment

"How did he get down there?" Crabbe wondered knowing the Astronomy tower was very high up

"He didn't do it did he? No he did!" Cho sighed realising what he had done, jumping off the tower really? He could be so reckless, he could fly sure but gravity had a strong pull when flying down from something that tall.

"Harry," Hermione called suddenly not thinking, he heard but he was not the only one. Her voice echoed around the mostly empty area and someone had heard them.  
"Shh," Draco shushed her looking around, it was too late, Peeves had seen them. Harry not wanting to be spotted dived for cover; if his friends were caught then at least he could continue alone

"Well looky here ickle first years," the poltergeist exclaimed happily; delighted to cause trouble in some way

"Great," Draco sighed; how were they going to deal with him, he was unpredictable and only feared one person and the bloody baron was not here.

"Ickle first years shouldn't be out of bed, perhaps Peeves should yell for Filch," the poltergeist teased wondering what trouble he could cause.

"Perhaps you shouldn't," Hermione advised taking control of the situation

"Why not girlie?" Peeves chuckled wondering what she could do to dissuade him

"Because we're planning a prank," Hermione answered coming up with the answer on the spot, she was trying to appeal to Peeves's nature and he was interested now

"Ooh and what is the plan that you ickle firsties came up with?" he asked realising he might be able to cause more trouble by helping them rather than telling on them

"To wash Snape's hair," Hermione quickly replied again coming up with the answer on the spot. It worked and Peeves was suddenly looking very intrusted indeed

"Yeah! We're going to put shampoo over his door and in the morning it will fall on him," Crabbe interjected trying to get the poltergeist to believe the story, Peeves frowned

"Interesting, Interesting, maybe Peeves could help you," the poltergeist suggested;

"Fine, why don't you go the prefects' bathroom, grab some shampoo and put it over his door, we'll do the rest," Draco suggest, Peeves considered this for a few moments, then he gave the group a mock salute and flew away.

"That worked?" Cho stated surprised;

"Yes it did," Draco nodded, they had tricked a trickster

"What do we do when Peeves blames us? Because he got the idea from us," Cho wondered aloud  
"Let's cross that bridge later," Draco suggest not wanting to thick about what Snape would do in the morning; he may be nicer now but Draco doubted he would take the prank well.

"Come on," Hermione urged realising they were wasting time; Harry emerged from under one of the staircases and arrived at the entrance to the corridor; he waited a few moments for everyone to arrive.

"How did you get here so fast?" he wondered

"Draco worked the whole thing out," Crabbe explained patting the blond-haired boy on the back

"And then they snuck into the common room and woke us up," Cho finished

"Yes it was terrifying," Hermione commented; shuddering at the memory

"Don't worry in a few years you'll both be used to waking up with three boys over you," Draco teased, it had taken him a while to come up with the perfect comment and that was the one.

"I'm going to kill you," Cho vowed darkly, for a moment Harry didn't think she was joking, neither did she.

"While you lot are talking there's a guy trying to steal the stone," Goyle suddenly interrupted,

"Fine I'll kill you later," Cho conceded, Harry chuckled slightly and opened the door. He could hear a harp playing in the distance and the group walked slowly towards the door where they knew fluffy was being kept. Slowly, very slowly they pushed the door open and found the giant dog passed out over the trap door. The harp was magically playing itself and the dog was fast asleep

"I really didn't want to come back here," Draco grumbled;

"No one did," Crabbe remarked

"I'm the one who has the last word in this group," Draco warned his friend.

"Would you two shut up," Hermione advised, the moment the words left her lips the harp stopped playing; it was enchanted to stop when a louder noise was present

"Well look who killed us all," Draco commented nodding towards the now stirring dog, someone even with the giant dog Hermione still managed to punch Draco on the shoulder. Harry studied the dog; its mind was basic and while it would be easy to manipulate it; it would be much harder to keep a creature that acted on instinct subdued mentally for long. However it was just waking up which gave them a slight advantage

"Come on," Harry called to his friends, he pushed its paw off the trap door and Harry flung it open, the dog growled deeply as it began to register what was going on, the trapdoor opened up to a hole which seemed to go quite a way down, however at the moment the drop was looking more favourable than the giant dog.

"Come on," Harry called again; Cho moved first and dived down with ease, Hermione rushed forward next followed by Crabbe and Goyle. The Cerberus's attention was now on Harry

"Oh goodie a dark hole," Draco mumbled sarcastically before he too jumped down, Fluffy moved forward; ready to give Harry the killing bite but it was too late; Harry had already dropped and the dog had no way of getting down. It barked loudly but there was nothing it could do as Harry descended into the darkness and hit something soft, it took a few moments before his eyes could adjust to the darkness.

"At least we got a soft landing," Crabbe murmured, Harry frowned the room seemed to be filled with a giant plant with tentacles and tendrils. Something was wrong here

"Oh no," Hermione mouthed from the other side of the room, Harry was confused for a moment but suddenly he saw why; it was alive and moving. Suddenly one of the tentacles slid around his leg and he scrambled up to shake it off but instead it only tightened its grip before wrapping around his arms and chest.

"What the," Draco yelled as the same thing happened to him

"It's devils snare," Cho shouted as one of the tentacles wrapped round her arm

"What do we do?" Harry shouted, his powers would not be helpful here and the more he tried to fly away the more tentacles gripped him. Crabbe and Goyle's bodies were now hidden by tendrils as they tried to escape

"It likes the dark and damp, dark and damp so it hates fire!" Hermione worked out; she was the least affected, most likely she was the calmest "But there's no wood,"

"You're kidding me! Because it's not like you have some kind of stick that can make a magical fire," Draco announced sarcastically, Hermione worked out what he meant.

"_Incendio," _suddenly a fire erupted in the centre of the room and the plant moved as one to escape it, Harry was close by and the tendrils holding him vanished as two more fires freed the others. Hermione was coordinating the fires and the plant scuttled away from them; giving Draco and Cho enough time to crawl out of the mass of vines. Crabbe and Goyle were almost dragged away with the plant but the two managed to force the tendrils to the side and scramble away from the fleeing plant.

"Not your first time with ten…" Draco began

"You make any comment about tentacles and I will throw you back in there," Cho warned

"Me too," Harry announced agreeing with her

"And me," Hermione interjected not wanting to hear it

"And us," Crabbe and Goyle warned; they were the ones who had been submerged in the plant and the comment Draco was about to make would offend them quite a bit. Draco seeing he was outnumbered decided to withdraw the comment, suddenly the humour had run dry and the group were now focused on what they would need to face next in order to stop Quirrel.

"This is not going to end well," Draco sighed.


	21. Chapter 21

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 21

**Here are the list of parings for Draco at the moment; thank you for all your feedback on Harry **

**Draco/Cho**

**Draco/Hermione **

**Draco/Pansy**

**Thank your for reading  
Apple **

The group moved quickly in the dark, the devil's snare wasn't going to be the only defence guarding the stone and it seemed like it was going to be a very long night. They had all been shaken by the plant; Harry especially, he had never been in a situation his powers couldn't help him or a situation when his fate relied on someone else. However as they moved down the twisted corridors and braved the chilling cold they suddenly heard what sounded like the jingling of metal and the flapping of wings.

"What's that?" Cho wondered aloud

"Dragon, Bird, Giant Flying Bumblebee , who knows," Draco responded casually, Cho just shook her head at his stab at humour.

"They sound almost like..." Hermione began listening to the sound as Harry opened a small wooden door, he stepped into a huge chamber, there was light which Harry welcomed but the sound was still confusing. At one end there was a door with a large lock but as far as he could tell there was no key, next to it was a two broomsticks, the chamber seemed to branch into passageways and Harry could see arches and pillars which would make it very difficult for someone to fly in.

"Oh look birds," Draco murmured pointing to a mass of silvery flying things; it was strange place to keep birds but if this was another obstacle then it was obviously going to have some meaning.

"They're not birds, they're keys," Harry realised looking closely at them; they were flying keys

"Could be worse," Draco supposed nodding in agreement as he observed the flock, they were flying around the room seemingly uncaring about the new arrivals.

"_Alohomora_," Hermione had drawn her wand and tried the unlocking charm on the door. It didn't work and Harry didn't expect it too; obviously the keys were what was important. However there was a lot of them and it didn't take long for someone to voice what he was thinking.

So which one opens the door," Hermione wondered, they all studied the flock for a moment; they couldn't try every single one could they! it would take far to long and it would Quirrel more than enough time to get the stone.

"That one," Crabbe pointed it out; Harry and the group looked to where he was pointing and they could see a large old-fashioned silver key with bright blue wings standing out from the rest of them. It was surrounded by the others and flew much quicker;

"How are we going to get up there?" Cho asked

"No because its not like we have some magical flying boy who could zoom up there," Draco announced dryly; Cho glared at him looking exasperated.

"I mean how are we going to get the one we need; its a flock of birds and if Harry flies up there then they will attack him which will give the key we need time to fly away.

"Well I can only see two Quidditch players in this room and one's a seeker," Draco responded looking at Cho, she paled realising he was talking about her. Harry realised what Draco was getting at, he could distract the rest of the flock while Cho snuck in and snatched the one key they needed. It was a far from perfect plan but it was their best bet

"Ok, Cho get a broom," Harry ordered suddenly taking control of the situation; she complied but did not seem too pleased, Harry meanwhile ascended into the air until Cho pulled up alongside him. She seemed comfortable on the broom but not to pleased about flying so close to a flock of metal keys which could attack

"Ready?" he asked her, she nodded and Harry for some reason was reminded about the first time they played Quidditch and how she was a lot more nervous and yet without her they wouldn't have won.

"Ok then," Harry moved first and almost leisurely approached the flock; he didn't get more than a metre away before they zoomed off. Harry chased after them while Cho looked around; she had an idea

"Come on," Harry muttered as the keys zigzagged around the room, he had to dodge walls, pillars and a number of other things the keys flew around to escape him. He had no experience in bird catching and decided he would have to give it a go during the summer

"Thank you," Cho exclaimed suddenly, she had flown directly upwards and simply plucked the key from the flock, Harry had to hand it to her; it was a very good plan. The group were standing near the door but Harry noticed the flock start to band tighter together

"Open it!" he shouted realising being trapped in a room with fast-moving metal things was not a good idea, Cho seeing his urgency threw the key to Draco who plunged it into the lock. Cho looked ready to land but let out a slight squeak as Harry hoisted her off it and carried her to the ground.

"You have got to stop doing that," she smiled remembering he had done the exact same thing during the quidditch game, then she looked up. The flock was coming towards them and they didn't look friendly

"Quickly," Cho encouraged running to the door with Harry just trailing behind, Draco had somehow managed to get the key stuck

"It won't turn," he protested worried. Hermione sighed and turned it the other way.

"No it turns the other way," she scolded but there was no time for him to reply as they sped through the door and Harry pulled it shut. A second later a thousand keys impaled the wood and if they had been standing there then they would be in the same position.

"That was close," Harry murmured looking concerned.

"Nothing like certain death to keep you alert," Draco suggested as Hermione pretended to hit him for not knowing how to operate a lock. Harry and the others regained their breath

"Ready to go?" he asked them eventually deciding that they needed to move on, everyone nodded.

"Come on then."

It didn't take long to reach then next chamber but it was not a light as the key one, though not as dark as the Devil's snare room. This chamber resembled a huge graveyard with a checkered surface, a number of strange statues dotted it and it took a few moments for Harry to realise what was going on. It was a huge chess board and the pieces on the other side were the enemy and would not let them pass; his theory proved right when they banded together to stop Draco moving forward.

"It's a chess game," Harry announced; Draco looked at him oddly.

"A chess game you say," Harry nodded. The moment the words left his lips the entire room exploded in light; torches based around the board formed a wall of fire to stop anyone leaving

"A chess game with us as the pieces," Harry finished realising what this challenge actually was.

"Well then let me introduce you to Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle both experts in their field of... chess," Draco beamed pointing to the two who had already begun studying the board.

"You play chess?" Cho asked the two

"Both of them have won the chess championship at some point in their life," Draco explained knowing the two did not want to talk when they were about to play a game. Harry watched with interest; he didn't play chess much.

"Ok, Hermione and Cho you two take the place of the rook's" Crabbe decided; seeing no reason to argue the two approached the pieces who slid away so the girl's could replace them.

"Draco, you a bishop," Goyle announced, Draco complied leaving only Harry.

"And your the queen," Goyle decided realising it would be the best position for him,

"Well he is a..." Draco began,

"Shut up," Cho ordered still annoyed with his previous comments, Harry decided he was thankful for her interjection. Crabbe and Goyle then took the place of the knights.

"Let's do this," Draco decided wondering if his prediction of this not ending well would come true.

Later

"Well that was a genius move," Draco sighed, he was in the middle of the board by now and the only one who seemed completely fine with the risk of getting decapitated by a giant chess figure. The first time they had seen it, the girls had jumped slightly and everyone seemed a little unnerved; except Draco who seemed unmoved.

"Do you want to do this?" Crabbe asked; they were doing well; only a few knights and queen remained on the other side but they were focusing more on not using their friend in case they were taken. Being taken in this game was a life and death situation

"Wait a moment," Draco suggested suddenly; he was looking at the game "There's a way you can win,"

"We can't do that one," Goyle responded quickly

"Why?" Harry wondered

"Because the bishop needs to be taken," Crabbe responded; Harry saw it now. If Draco moved a few paces to the right diagonally then the Queen on the other side could take him. He could then take the Queen which would put the king in checkmate. Draco's mind was already alert

"Well it's my move," Draco sighed suddenly

"Don't do it," Harry ordered unwilling to allow his friend to be hurt

"Harry, the stone we need to protect like you said, everyone has played their part in this; except you but you know your the one going to beat the hell out of Qurrel but if we delay any longer he's gonna get it." Draco responded calmly

"No," Harry protested but it was too late, Draco moved several steps diagonally until he was on the same row as the Queen. Before anyone could say anything she moved quickly to his spot

"Can you get on with it?" Draco wondered sarcastically; her response was to backhand him, normally it would only sting but she was made of white marble. It was rock hand and Draco went flying across the room, Harry gasped as did everyone else

"I'm fine, well not fine but I'm alive, so can you end the game now," even injured he was somehow sarcastic, Harry knowing he was right walked forward. His steps echoed around the room as he approached. The Queen seemed to look down on him, then he tapped the base, she still needed to obey the rules and walked off the board,

"Checkmate," Harry announced simply, the king at the other end dropped a sword, the clang echoed around the chamber. The moment it did he rushed over to Draco

"Are you ok?" Cho asked first

"No, No getting thrown across a room feels great," Draco murmured, Cho decided to save slapping him until later.

"Anyway you need to get going," Draco decided;

"We can't leave you here," Harry told him,

"We'll stay," Crabbe and Goyle announced; Slytherins had to stick together after all,

"Me too," Hermione decided knowing they would be lost without any guidance.

"Fine, we'll go on, you get to the hospital wing and get Snape. Not Dumbledore ok?" Harry requested

"Sure thing," Draco responded being gently helped to his feet, Harry and Cho turned to leave.

"Say hi to Quirrel for me," Draco yelled. Cho rolled her eyes.

Later

Harry moved alone now, the potion chamber had proved very easy and Cho had solved it quickly very quickly. He had never been more grateful for the assistance he was getting from his friends; their help had proved invaluable; without Hermione they would have been crushed by the plant, without Crabbe and Goyle they couldn't have won the game, without Draco they would have given Quirrel too much of a head start. Cho had gotten the key and he doubted he could have done it so quickly and she had solved the potion puzzle first as she had been in a rush to get out of the troll room; Quirrel had a way with trolls it seemed.

"Come on," Cho encouraged; she had refused to turn back and had taken the icy potion with them so they could get back. She seemed confident but he knew she was a little afraid; he was grateful she was here, she managed to pull him away from his Dementor form before and if he needed to use it then maybe she could again. He wasn't actually intending to use his form but it was just in case scenario.

"Should I break the mirror?" He heard Quirrel's voice first, Harry moved silently until he reached his destination. He was slightly surprised to see the mirror of Erised in the centre of a large chamber will Quirrel murmuring. Who was he talking to? Harry decided it wasn't his concern and instead loudly walked into the room, Cho followed behind and seemed slightly worried but tried to remain strong.

"It's over Quirrel," was all he said and the man spun around. He seemed surprised and caught off guard

"Harry Potter and... Cho Chang? interesting choice of companion," he announced, Cho was suddenly staring intensely into the mirror but Harry was not focused on her. If he was then he would have noticed her pocket grow in size

"What are you doing here?" Quirrel demanded but he already knew the answer no matter how much he pretended not to

"I'm here to stop you," Harry responded icily ignoring the mass of colours in the mirror he was immune and that may prove to be an advantage

"_Let me see him_!" a voice called. Harry realised this was the second mind he thought Quirrel had but where was it coming from?

"Master you're not strong enough," Quirrel responded, he seemed afraid and Harry wondered again who he was speaking to

"_Let me see him now_!" the voice demanded and Harry felt like he was meeting an old enemy,

Quirrel looked ready to protest but instead he unwound his turban and spun around. Harry recoiled; he had seen the glowing red eyes before, he was staring into the face of Lord Voldemort. Harry raised his hands

"You," Harry spat at Bella's former master. She had spoken highly of him in the past but he could see now how wrong she was. This man was evil and there was no doubt about that, while he prepared for battle he failed to notice Cho put her hand in her pocket, unlike Harry she could use this mirror and she had the stone. She had the one thing the dark wizard wanted and as his attention turned to her; she realised he knew it.

"Give me the stone," he demanded coolly

"Good luck with that," Cho spat wondering where this new found courage was coming from; this was Voldemort after all. Quirrel looked ready to lunge but Harry blasted him back with a wave of energy

"Leave her alone," Harry demanded.

"Well then it looks like we have a hero," Voldemort hissed angrily, Quirrel drew his wand and Harry extended his arm.

"Cho go," he ordered to his friend; Quirrel was distracted and he couldn't stop her leaving.

"If you want the stone you have to go through me," Harry offered, Quirrel and Voldemort smiled sickeningly

"I was counting on it,"


	22. Chapter 22

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 22

The Quirrel/Voldemort monster was standing in front of Harry; already he had decided against switching to his Dementor form, if he did then he couldn't stop it easily, however that left other powers that could be used in this situation. Currently Voldemort was facing Harry, the mirror was blocking his view ever so slightly but with his wand in hand he could still duel. However normal magic or at least the magic he knew wouldn't be effective in this situation

"You think you can challenge me?" Voldemort spoke first in a high cold voice, obviously he was taking more control of Quirrel with each moment who was not resisting at all, Harry wondered if the man was even alive now. Fire suddenly exploded around the room, however Voldemort was not the one doing this, Harry had willed it to be and the dark energy emitted from Voldemort's soul was giving him power. It was ironic in a way, his enemy was inadvertently giving him power; however he said nothing waiting for Voldemort to make the first move.

"Interesting, you have power boy. And yet it is not magic I have seen before, perhaps the boy who lived has a darker secret than I thought," Voldemort chuckled but his eyes were wider after Harry's display of power. Harry just glared at him, he was buying Cho time and she had the stone, hopefully she would get far enough away to ensure Voldemort never touched it. He was not the only one who knew what he was doing

"I will kill her, and I will destroy all of your friends unless you step aside so I can reclaim what is mine," Voldemort hissed coldly with anger etched upon the lines of his snakelike face. Something inside Harry rushed to defend his friends and he flicked his hand forward and sent a wave of dark energy at Voldemort. Quirrel spun around and conjured a shield, if he had done so seconds later then he would have been flung into the darkness but instead the energy just cracked his shield.

"Kill him!" Voldemort screeched feeling the pulse of magic , Quirrel was eager to comply and Harry dodged as Quirrel fired a jet of green light towards him. The man had very bad aim but Harry had to avoid the beams just the same but he would not hide, instead he spun around (dodging a killing curse in the process) and fired a pulse of dark energy towards Quirrel. It worked and the man was flung to the floor but he was not dead, not by a long shot but is mind was open and Harry knowing where his strengths would be best suited entered his mind. This time he went further than merely exploring his thoughts and ideas, this time he dived into Quirrel's very core.

_A dark landscape was all he could see, for miles and miles around there was nothing but a barren land with dark veins inscribed onto the surface. The sky was burning with rage while the ground hummed in surprise, Harry knew where he was. This was the very mind of Quirrel and this was the full extent of his mind invasion power, minds were like labyrinths when looking for information but Dementors drained memories from every corner of the mind. They became a part of the mind in a way and entering a mind was almost too easy, Harry did not use this power often. It exposed him to true nature of people and he was a destructive force, every step he took would corrupt a man's thoughts, twist and distort them until they shattered. This would drive a man to madness but Harry unlike Dementor could do it directly and quickly _

_"Potter!" Quirrel's voice screamed from the distance then a silkier, colder voice stepped in _

_"How are you here?" was all it said, Voldemort had no knowledge of his powers but Harry was going to tear him from this mind. The dark veins that existed under the surface of Quirrel's mind was how Voldemort was latching on, this is why he could never enter Quirrel's mind in class or ever, there was another mind which was protecting it; Voldemort's. _

_A wind like no other suddenly picked up around Harry ,he almost smiled. Quirrel had worked out sooner than most that he was in control of the landscape, he had sent a wind to try to throw him out but there was no way that would work. Harry took a step and the wind stopped_

_"So Harry Potter I was right, there is a lot more to you than this fool thought, he thought you were nothing more than a student who would never amount to anything but instead I find you to be a master of Legilimency but not in the way I would expect." Voldemort's voice rang out; Harry was distorting Quirrel's mind but it was giving Voldemort more power_

_"I know your here," Harry called out knowing the pulsing black veins under the surface of the dark land would lead him to Voldemort_

_"Indeed you do but how? how have you done this? and why do you not reveal this power that you have? You could be great?" his voice was almost seductive but Harry would never listen to darkness, not in mind or body. _

_"You made a mistake," Harry announced, _

_"And what is that?" Voldemort demanded coolly, already he was taking more control of Quirrel and Harry reached out into the very fabric of what made up this mind, Voldemort was within and his darkened soul nourished him with energy._

_"You gave me the power to destroy you." Then Harry unleashed a blast of dark energy within Quirrel so powerful that he was thrown in to the air, the ground began to break and the black veins broke but it wasn't enough and Harry was repelled from this mind that no longer belonged to Quirrel. _

Harry took a deep breath as he returned to reality, the world seemed almost unreal to him after what he had just done. However he had no time to ponder his existence or any philosophy behind it because the body of Quirrel was changing. The same black veins now lined his face and the cold red eyes of Voldemort replaced those of Quirrel's, Harry had accidently allowed Voldemort to take more control, well total control. Harry did not wait around to fight, Voldemort in a body was more threatening than Quirrel, luckily he had an advantage, Voldemort could not live in Quirrel's mind and body forever. It was resisting him and soon his dark energy would cause Quirrel to crumble, Harry ran.

"Potter," Voldemort cried breaking into a similar sprint, Quirrel's body was already suffering and cracks were appearing along his skin. He needed to get to the stone and fast, Harry had an advantage and quickly his feet left the ground, he was faster when flying and the potion had not yet worn off, he swooped through the flames. Cho was in the room

"Harry," she exclaimed, Harry looked startled, she was waiting for him because she knew the potion to get them back.  
"Quickly," he ordered knowing Quirrel was not far behind, the potion had already worn off for him but it wouldn't stop Voldemort whom he doubted could feel pain. Cho quickly took a swig of the potion as did he, Voldemort appeared; the flamed melted his flesh and set his clothes alight but he still moved forward.

"Really," Cho sighed knowing what Harry was about to do, he picked her up and dragged her through the air as they rushed to escape the monstrosity chasing them

"Have you got a plan?" she demanded watching Voldemort with evident worry.

"No," Harry replied honestly entering the troll room, he ignored the stench as it was mixing with that of Voldemort's burning flesh and left the room very quickly.

"GIVE ME THE STONE," Voldemort screeched through black lips, his tongue was shrivelling into ash and his fingers were falling apart. His eyes had yellowed and his teeth were rotted,

"Faster," Cho urged as they entered the chess room, the board had reassembled and the pieces were just waiting for someone else to take up the game. Harry saw the far door was blocked and he could not fly over without one of the pieces stabbing up at him or hitting Cho, he landed at turned as Voldemort charged into the room. Cho looked queasy at the sight of his decaying form but Harry was busy looking for a way out, Voldemort sensed he had beaten the two

"Give me the stone," he rasped in a voice that was hoarse and angry, he would not be able to speak for much longer. Cho's hand went to her pocket to check the stone was still there

"Give it to me," Voldemort roared, Harry just glared up at him and stood in front of Cho  
"What are you going to do now boy? I have won," Voldemort spat with some difficulty.

"Well I'll tell you what I'm going to do," a dry and unimpressed voice filled the room, Voldemort turned shocked to see Draco Malfoy causally propped up against a chess piece.

"I'm going to say, Knight to F3," Draco smugly retorted before Voldemort could say anything, sure enough the knight moved but Harry could not see what it was going to do.

"Was that supposed to impress?" Voldemort hissed

"No that's going to hurt," Draco remarked causally as Voldemort was backhanded by the same Queen that had hit Draco, he went soaring through the air but unlike Draco Voldemort was nothing but a frail form. The moment he hit the wall he collapsed and crumbled into dust

"How the..." Harry exclaimed

"Don't look at the actor, look at the writer," Draco commented gesturing to Hermione who had emerged with Crabbe and Goyle from behind a rook.

"Well..." she tried to shrug off any involvement with the scheme

"Come off it!" Draco announced "she bandaged my leg up and thought it would be best if we waited for you two, she came up with this plan when we heard the running,"

"Well I knew the Queen could hit almost any target on the board in particular the ones that whoever was chasing you would be standing," she admitted looking slightly abashed.

"Brilliant," Harry beamed at her suddenly the room felt dark and he turned to see something that was neither a ghost nor gas rising from the ashes of Quirrel.

"Uh oh," Draco announced as it screamed and lunged at Harry, then it screamed in terror as his inner Dementor reached out for it; eager to absorb it's evil.  
"No," Harry gritted his teeth, he was not going to let evil into him and not this thing, whatever it was or he might end up like Quirrel, the pain of resistance was stunning but he would not let it in.  
"Harry," Cho called followed by Hermione and Draco. Crabbe and Goyle were beside him and were keeping him standing, it was a good thing too.

"Focus on them," he told himself as his inner self battled with his personality. The pain just grew and Harry gritted his teeth

"Focus," he ordered and suddenly he fell back, exhausted but empty of that evil.

"Harry," Draco called worried as Crabbe and Goyle struggled to keep Harry awake. However he did not focus on anyone at that moment because in a flash he was locked in a deep sleep. His last thought was of the mirror for in that very moment in the other room it began to glow

_For Blood and Hate; his heart remains closed_

Blood was his inner self; the Dementor inside him and he had not allowed it to take control, Hate was Voldemort and the dark energy he would have absorbed but he had rejected both. This was the first part of a prophecy inscribed within the very bones of time.


	23. Chapter 23

Raised by Darkness: Chapter 23 

Harry awoke to what tasted like melted gold running town his throat, the last thing he remembered what the disgruntled spirit of Voldemort attacked him. He already knew Voldemort would be injured and quite heavily; in some way Harry saved his enemy. If he had allowed Voldemort to enter him then the man would have destroyed and Harry would have become something much different. Something he did not want to think about

"Harry," he heard Cho's voice first and a hand on his shoulder, his vision was blurry but slowly he was refocusing

"Told you it would work," he heard Hermione grumble, Draco normally would have made some kind of comment by now but instead he helped Harry to his feet.

"Quirrel?" Harry checked hoping the man was dead.

"He's stuttering with Satan now," Draco confirmed feeling no sympathy for either of the men who tried to kill them.

"Voldemort?" Harry continued noticing that not a single person in the group flinched at the name.

"Long gone," Draco answered. The group had seen the spirit fly away from Harry screeching with pain as it was almost devoured.

They were still in the chess room and no one had arrived to help them; the ash pile that was once Quirrel/Voldemort was in one corner and the spirit was long gone. Hopefully he gave Voldemort a fright he would not soon forget and if the man had any sense he would not come close to Harry in spirit form again.

"Are you ok?" Cho asked suddenly; it took Harry a few moments to grab hold of reality, then he saw a thick golden liquid on the floor.

"You used the elixir," he realised looking at the stone; Cho was holding it and nodded. It healed obviously and if it kept drinking it he would be immortal, something he was not going to do. In fact he intended to return to Flamel the moment he could but he could not help feel touched that his friends had gone to such lengths for him.

"Well thanks for almost dying back there, you're our ride home remember because I have a strange feeling unless Crabbe can turn into fly and Goyle can become a giant green monster we are not getting out of here in a hurry," Draco remarked dryly once he realised the danger had passed. Harry shook his head at the comment as Cho flashed Draco an irritated glare

"Though we need to thank Hermione who worked out it would help more," Draco pointed to the bushy haired girl who for the second time this night flushed red. Harry did what he would do when anyone saved his life; he hugged her

"Brilliant," was all he could say; the elixir would have sped up the time it took for him to heal and not knowing the full extent of his powers Harry would have guessed it would take some considerable time.

"Awww," Draco commented looking at Cho with wide arms

"No," was all she could say with narrow eyes, Draco looked at her with mock hurt and turned to Crabbe and Goyle

"No," the echoed Cho's words not wanting a hug from anyone right now.

"She gets one," Draco murmured in protest gesturing to Hermione who had now been released from the embrace.

"Save my life first then I'll think about it," Cho sighed not completely against the idea; anyway they needed to get of here.

"I take that as a challenge," Draco winked at her before turning towards the door, the chess pieces had moved for them to exit the room now and Draco looked at Harry.

"Any clue as to how we're getting out of here again?" he wondered, Harry nodded; he had a plan to get out, one he had come up with around three seconds ago.

"Is the plan insane?" Draco checked... Harry nodded slightly and Draco burst into a smile.

"The only way we do things in this club," he decided and the six of them walked out of the room knowing that the job was done, though they still had Dumbledore to deal with when he found the pile of ash, the lack of Quirrel, no stone, well and of course Snape when he woke in the morning to shampoo covering his hair.

"Out of pure interest are you planning on telling Aunt Bella you almost ate the Dark Lord?"

One week later

Nicholas Flamel had been sitting by the windowsill reading a book, he had been trying to distract himself. Dumbledore had taken the philosopher's stone away for safe keeping but he would some of it soon, already he felt older and tried to distract himself by burying himself in a book written by one of the great writers he had met during his life. His wife was somewhere downstairs doing the same but suddenly he heard something, a squawk of some kind and he turned around to see an owl as white as snow soaring towards his home. It was a manor on one of the islands hidden from muggle eyes just off Britain, three floors, a tower with all the comforts of home was all he needed. The owl however was not his and in the warmth of an early spring sun he wondered who had sent him at this time

"Hello," he murmured. He was old there was no denying it but he had been old for a long time; he had a short grey wispy beard and spectacles hung loosely from his face. His eyes were shining blue and his skin had a darkened tone; he was tall and thin with lines across his face that would never fade. He spoke in a kind voice as the owl landed on his desk; this was his study but he noticed the owl was carrying something. A package and so he took the poorly wrapped present and came face to face with the stone

"What on earth?" he questioned aloud as he noticed a note accompanied the owl, he took it

_Dear Mr Flamel _

_Hogwarts was never safe for your stone and now we have stopped it being stolen we believe it would be safer with its owner. Lord Voldemort attempted to use it so he could return from the dead (or whatever he is) and we think it best that you take it back. Please do not mention this to Albus Dumbledore as he is sure to demand it back; he had his own purposes for the stone and we think it best if he remained ignorant. _

_Regards_

HP, DM,CC,HG, VC, GG

Flamel smiled. He had a feeling that his old friend had wanted the stone for his own reasons but he had given it to him, strange he did not remember the agreement well and perhaps this lot was right. They had given him the stone back, ignored the gold it could give or the promise of immortality and instead wrapped it up and returned it, he had a feeling this lot had the right attitude. The snowy owl was gone and he had no idea who had sent it, the initials did not ring any bells and he supposed if they wanted to remain distant he would let them, though if they ever needed something they just needed to ask. Then the picked up the stone and smiled.

Two months Later

"Draco where's Harry?" Cho asked from the Ravenclaw table, the group were sitting pretty much back to back but there was only five of them. It was getting close to the end of term and soon the exam season would be upon them and then the end of term, the summer was looming it seemed and the time had gone quickly. Hermione and Cho were already revising but they noticed that Harry seemed to spending a lot of time alone; Draco however stiffened slightly at the mention of Harry. Cho took this to mean he knew exactly where he was;

"Harry? why would I know where Harry is? he's in your house!" Draco pointed out, Cho glared at him knowingly. Their adventure had flooded the school the day after they stopped Quirrel and they become almost celebrities; Fudge had been notified by Harry as Dumbledore wanted to speak to him very soon and slowly the true rumours of him being raised in Azkaban faded. They were replaced by rumours about Quirrel, Ron had the Gryfindors convinced he had killed Quirrel while others said otherwise. Cho did not care, she did however care about where Harry was, Dumbledore had already tried finding out where the stone was but strangely his legilmency powers didn't work on any of them.

"Where is he?" she asked darkly, Draco did not answer and as she saw Harry approach from seemingly nowhere she wondered if she actually wanted to know.

"We don't want to ask do we?" Hermione commented, Cho smiled; it seemed great minds thought alike and she nodded.

"No I have a feeling we'll know soon enough."

Meanwhile

Fudge and Umbridge flooed into Dumbledore's office, he had requested Fudge's presence and while he would have gone alone he decided to bring Dolores along. She was going to note down the entire conversation just encase the man tried something

"Thank you for coming," Dumbledore greeted; he had bags under his eyes now. His plan had gone completely off track, he had lost the stone, lost Harry and had been humiliated all in one year.

"What do you want?" Fudge groaned, Dumbledore was obviously aiming for something but he didn't know what. He already knew what had transpired under the school and he had experts working out how Voldemort has alive, he believed Harry as did the wizards who had inspected the pile of ash that was once Quirrel.

"Harry murdered Quirrel," Dumbledore stated, Fudge looked up. Did Dumbledore really think he was that thick?

"Sorry?" Even Umbridge knew the man was trying it on now.

"He killed a teacher and while we have no proof I think he needs to learn a lesson," Dumbledore began darkly

"What are you saying?" Fudge asked the man; he could see that this was some kind of last second bid for control over Harry. He had already been discredited and Fudge had released an official statement that Harry Potter had not been raised in Azkaban but instead by ministry employee's with a dementor bodyguard whom he was fond of. Dumbledore had accepted this explanation as had most of the wizarding world they just didn't want to accept that a dark creature could raise a child.

"I think he needs to go to Azkaban for the summer," Dumbledore answered; his intention was to break Harry in a more direct way and this would ensure he would be back under his control. However the reaction he was expecting was shock and horror which he would use against them, what he wasn't expecting was for both of them to burst out laughing.

"Sure thing, tell you what I'll send him there for Christmas to," Fudge chortled... Dumbledore looked aghast

"Albus, come on. He called A dementor mum in a public place, I mean do you really think that was some kind of... for goodness sake think about it man," Fudge continued.

"And if this information leaves this room then the world will know who tried to send their saviour to a prison," Umbridge added sternly.

Dumbledore shrank back in his chair realising the minister had outwitted him.

The last night of term

On the whole a good year for Ravenclaw, they had won the house cup without much effort at all, literally Cho had proved to be a much better seeker than she thought and Harry was just Harry. They had been named the lightning duo, they worked together and often if you tried to stop one the other would interfere, Wood had ended up in tears after he had lost for the ninth time in a row and Ronald Weasley had turned the colour of a tomato. The whole group had passed their exams with flying colours as did Ron Weasley (much to their annoyance). Currently Gryfindor were in the lead with points as Dumbledore had proved to be much less fair when he realised his pawn was lost, Ravenclaw were a hundred points behind and Slytherin almost two hundred.

"Where's Harry?" Cho demanded to Draco, Draco stiffened again.

"No idea, " he stammered very quickly. Cho had tried to find out a lot but for some reason she couldn't get Draco to talk; she wanted to know now. It was the feast and in the morning they would be off... they would meet in the summer obviously but for some reason Cho felt something was off. She just didn't know what

"Cho," Hermione urged suddenly; Cho turned to see the Weasley Twins giggling in the corner

"Oh no," she sighed realised whatever he had been planning on the train had spilled into his time at Hogwarts. Now it was coming to fruition and she was not too happy

"Draco," she hissed realising he had known he was planning some kind of prank all along, Draco just beamed at her as Dumbledore stood up to make his speech.

"This isn't going to end well," Cho sighed. Snape had been searching for whoever had pulled the shampoo joke for a while and it looked like his search was coming to an end. For in that moment a torrent of foam exploded from the ceiling. Dumbledore had no time to react as he was suddenly covered from head to toe in a pink foam, Cho, Draco, the rest of the hall and some teachers burst out laughing as Harry appeared next to them. He had dropped into his seat next to Cho.

"What's going on?" He asked innocently. Cho hit him with the glare she usually reserved for Draco as Dumbledore cleaned himself off. It took a few minutes and Snape was already looking at Harry who he had seen drop into his seat. Dumbledore shook the whole thing off with a chuckle before beginning his speech, then he mentioned the house cup.

"Before we begin headmaster may I make an announcement?" Snape asked suddenly; Dumbledore was caught off guard; he had never had this happen before but he nodded. Snape turned to the hall. He knew what transpired with Quirrel and had become a listener to the group; however Harry had not been expecting to him to interrupt a speech.

"An interesting year," he began to the silent hall "And I have realised a number of things this year, among others. Firstly I think I owe a few people some points," the crowd began to stir. This was unusal and suddenly the Gryfindors looked nervous

"Firstly to my own house, for keeping the lessons alive with wit I give ten points to Draco Malfoy," he announced, Dumbledore was looking wary but this was not against the rules.

"For the best game of wizard chess I've seen played in a long time... I give Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle fifty points," the hall stirred again but they knew this total could not compete with that of lions. Dumbledore looked relived but Snape wasn't finished; no one cheered yet as no one had yet beaten the lions.

"To Ravenclaw, for surprising the most deadly enemy with a simple tactic I award Hermione Granger thirty points," the Ravenclaw table now waited with held breath.

"For showing courage, determination I give the Harry Potter and Cho Chang thirty points each ," Snape continued. Only ten more points was needed now

"And for standing up for one another, I give Harry Potter, Cho Chang, Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle two points each," McGonagall interrupted startling the hall yet again as Dumbledore looked angered; his staff were going against him and even the head of the house that was about to win knew he had been unfair. Ravenclaw only needed three more points

"And for showing the best quidditch I've ever seen I give the lightning Duo one point each," Fillus finished; one point below what they needed to be even.

"But on a more negative note, for bullying, spreading rumours and harassment I take three points from Ron Weasley." Sprout ended; all the heads of houses had come together. The Ravenclaw table exploded into cheers and claps and Dumbledore stood to attention; he had not planned for this... not by a long shot.

"So it seems with Six hundred and ninety nine points Ravenclaw win the house cup this year," Dumbledore sighed. The cheering did not stop for a while and the all of the group clanged their goblets together.

"To us!" Draco announced loudly, they echoed his words. They had been through a lot and it was time to celebrate.

"And may nothing bad happen next year," he finished. They all started to laugh; what could be worse than what they had faced this year after all?

"Why do I have a feeling I'm going to regret those words?"


	24. Chapter 24

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 24

**Hopefully will have more regular updates from now on **

**Apple**

Summer had come to Malfoy Manor and Draco was currently sat in the living room with Crabbe and Goyle, it was a large room that was kept out of sight during the parties his parents had. Currently he was sat on a shining green cushion which was resting on the sofa, he was toying with his wand; he was bored already and it had only been a week since he had arrived home. Harry wasn't due for a week yet but Crabbe and Goyle were with him today. The train ride back had been eventful; Ron Weasley thought he could enact some kind of revenge against Harry in particular for losing the cup; he decided to target Draco and Cho who had gone to get something from the trolley. Well Ron should have chosen a better place to spring his attack than outside the compartment with the entire Ravenclaw Quidditch team; one black eye later he had run off.

"Can Dobby get master Draco and his friends something?" the house elf suddenly appeared in the room causing Draco to jump on the black leather sofa. The house elf gave him a nervous smile as he wondered if Draco was going to be angry because he had made him jump. Luckily it was Draco and not Lucius he had disturbed

"No thanks," Draco smiled slightly; since he and Harry had become friends he had found himself taking a less superior view on others; Dobby was more of a butler than a slave to him. The rest of his family not so much but they were improving, the house elf gave a slight bow before vanishing into the air, House elf magic was interesting. It could bypass all the wards on the house and Draco not for the first time wondered how such a power was ignored, Dumbledore couldn't bypass the wards but a simple house elf could? Well if the wizarding world wanted to be stupid that wasn't his problem. He suddenly heard a tweak and looked up, above him as normal was one of the huge chandeliers that filled the manor, he could see Dobby at the top.

"Is that your house elf?" Crabbe wondered suddenly looking up

"Dobby what are you doing up there?" he asked aloud, the house elf looked down slightly nervously

"Master Lucius said I needed to stop the chandelier swinging," Dobby answered as he practically swung from the huge glass thing. Both Crabbe and Goyle jumped up not wanting to be on the receiving end if Dobby accidently dropped the chandelier.

"Tell you what boys let's go outside," Draco decided wanting to give his new broom a try, he was going to try out next year after all, the two did but Draco decided to wait a moment.

"Ok next time you're trying to kill me be more obvious," Draco commented jumping up just in case Dobby unscrewed the wrong thing and he ended up squashed.

"Ok master Draco," Dobby replied innocently causing Draco to look up with wide slightly concerned eyed. Sighing he was about to walk out of the room when he saw something in the corner of his eye, a black book had been left next to the largest armchair opposite the fireplace, this was strange. His father was a very careful man and quite attentive when it came to things being out of place, overly attentive almost. However Draco felt the sudden urge to observe this strange entity and found himself staring at a black book, it was too small to be a school book so he assumed it must be some kind of diary.

"So what are you," he commented reaching for the book, then he heard something from behind. A few months ago he wouldn't have cared but he was the only person other than Dobby in the house today, his mother was out and his father was at work. So someone was sneaking around... he worked it out pretty quickly

"Great another one of Arthur Weasley's raids," he sighed knowing any moment the doorbell would ring and when he opened the door a team of wizards would search the place... well it might liven up his day.

Meanwhile 

Harry also found summer tedious, the first few days had been fun with him catching up with everyone. Sirius, Bella and Lucy were the main ones but he was currently bored, it was mid day and Lucy was on her patrolling duty; sometimes he went with her while other times he did not and this was one of them. He would be staying with the Malfoy's in a week or so but he currently had a bit of a problem and that problem involved explaining to Lucy what happened between him and Quirrel. He had told Sirius and Bella had overheard and neither were angry or upset he had not told them but both had given him advice on the matter

"She is going to kill you," they had both laughed. Hermione had written to him to let him know that she had told her parents part of the truth but not all of it. so Voldemort, any near death situation had been left out except the troll; Cho had done the same but Draco decided not to mention it, he had no idea how his father would react if he was told that his son had managed to have his former master crushed into a wall. So he had a choice; tell Lucy or not.

"I can't not tell her," Harry sighed, he trusted her and she needed to know, it was just her reaction which worried him, how would any mother react to finding out her son had been attacked by Lord Voldemort...

"_What!" _a voice in his mind demanded. Harry was shocked for all but a moment but quickly regained himself

"_Hey I thought we agreed not to use the mental connection to listen to each other's thoughts," _he accused suddenly.

_"Don't try getting out of this like that! what do you mean Voldemort attacked you?" _she demanded within his mind, Harry thought for a moment. Well looks like this would be the best time to tell her

"_You bet it is," _she replied listening to his thoughts again.

"_Stop reading my thoughts," _Harry demanded not overly happy that she was listening to everything he was thinking.

"_Stop being attacked by Dark Lords," _she replied immediately and Harry got an inkling that there was no way he was going to win this fight. So using the connection he explained what had happened over the course of the year (not mentioning Fudge knew!) and what had transpired after they had followed Quirrel .

"_What school did I send you to?" _she wondered in her own mind and in Harry's

"_You know Draco asked the same thing," _Harry almost chuckled but decided not to show any humour, she was not too happy today well not any more.

Meanwhile 

Cho lived in a moderately large home in the middle of a wizarding village just outside of London, thanks to her mum working at the ministry they were relatively rich and a five bedroom home was just right for them. She had two younger sisters who would go to Hogwarts in three of four years but today was an interesting day. Her mum was at work thanks to Umbridge demanding she do extra work; Harry had spoken of the woman once and for some reason she got the impression he didn't really like her. He felt that she was only out for herself and would please Fudge however she could so in a few years she would have a chance of taking over; the inner workings of Britain's magical government were a mystery to her. Despite what they thought the entire Chinese communist party had been aware of magic since they took over, they had taken over the magical government as well and their rules were far more relaxed.

"Cho what's that?" Hermione asked; Cho had invited her round after finding out they didn't live far apart, it was only a car journey away and seeing as Cho was a half-blood with a magical parent both girls could use magic outside of school. Hermione was currently pointed to a small stone on the end of her bed, the room was large. A double bed rested on a Ravenclaw blue carpet, a small bedside table had a few books and a muggle alarm clock while the rest of the room was covered in shelves and wardrobes. Some had pictures, others had clothes and more but Hermione was drawn to Cho's impressive book collection, they were both Ravenclaw's so they did enjoy a good read.

"It supposed to predict your future," Cho answered; it had been a gift from her father who was currently downstairs talking to Dan and Emma Granger. He was a muggle born wizard and had married a pure blood, not that Cho cared, blood purity was unheard of in China and the rest of the world except Britain as far as she knew. Hermione was toying with the blue stone and suddenly it exploded into a vibrant green, she looked towards Cho for an answer

"It means you're going to be healthy I think," she answered after a moment looking at the stone in more depth, though the moment she touched it; it turned black with a slight tinge of red.

"What does that mean?" Hermione wondered

"No idea," Cho answered; she didn't know. Luckily the conversation did not continue this way for long as both girls were more interested in discussing magic, gossiping, testing spells and more than trying to work out strange omens. Though this one was strange, black meant darkness and red meant joy after all and these two did not often go hand in hand.

"Cho... you and Draco," Hermione began after awhile not too sure on how to start her next sentence, Cho already knew what she meant and laughed

"You mean was is it with me and him?" Hermione nodded. "He's funny at times but someone has to keep comedy in its place, before you know he starts with the creepy comments so to restore the balance of the universe I threaten to kill him." Hermione giggled at this but Cho had a feeling this was not the question Hermione was really asking; the real question she was not going to answer at least not yet.

Later

Crabbe and Goyle were gone now, they had left after the raid and luckily Narcissa had arrived home before the raid could actually commence. They found nothing and Draco knew they wouldn't; anything giving even the slightest indication of his father's past was locked away in the secret chamber. Not that Arthur Weasley or anyone else could find it, they had spent hours looking through the place and left; Lucius would not be happy and would most likely file a complaint or go directly to Fudge. They men had a frosty relationship and what Harry didn't know was that Arthur had at the last moment had fought against Harry staying in Azkaban, the man's memory had been altered accordingly as Fudge had already worked out where Dumbledore wanted him to go and was not going to allow it. Harry had pretty much forgotten about him anyway and Draco had only heard it when he was eavesdropping on a conversation . Though as Draco stepped back into the living room (it had been put back the exact way it should be after the intruders were done) he noticed something; the black book was gone. For a moment he was confused, why would they take that but then again someone could have just put it back on the shelf though he was not the only person that noticed. Dobby had watched the entire thing and he knew that Arthur Weasley had taken the diary, he knew what that could mean and already a plan was forming in his mind.


	25. Chapter 25

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 25

**I spoke a while ago about the main plot line and we are going to be moving more into it now. Thank you all for reading and next chapter will have Lucy and Molly" meeting" for the first time.**

**Apple**

Harry managed to calm Lucy down eventually, it had taken three days of conversation, grovellingand further explanations before she forgave him. In her own way she was still really annoyed and was expressing her feelings as she glided alongside Dora. Her main focus was no longer being annoyed at Harry but instead Dumbledore, Hogwarts and pretty much everyone she could be annoyed at. Her chill was double the capacity it normally was and the prisoners in the lower level of the prison were shuddering as she cut through them, a heavy Dementor presence was unusual in this part of the prison. It was different; the cells were the same and straw was used as a carpet for the corridor and the cells; it was dark and damp but these prisoners would only stay in here a few months or a year. The ones higher up would stay much longer.

"_What kind of school did I send him to_?" she asked her closest sister as they glided through the low security wing. Why they had levels of security she had no idea but there had to be some system of separating the foolish from the evil, Dora was gliding next to her and suddenly put a scabbed hand on her sister's shoulder. It was comforting but Lucy was still angry

"_Calm Lucy, I understand your upset more than anything but think about it, he's fine. Everyone is fine, if anything you should be proud_," Dora soothed coming to a halt at the far end of the corridor. People were groaning behind her but the two Dementors ignored them

_"Of course I'm proud of him! he took on Voldemort and won, they all did. I'm very proud but he still was put in that situation," _Lucy replied quickly, if Dora had proper lips she would smile.

_"Calm down then, we knew Dumbledore would try something but it blew up in his face, Harry won. Easily and the foolish man tried to have him imprisoned here," _Dora informed Lucy. The entire family had loved that, Fudge sent him to Azkban every holiday and to be honest all Dumbledore was actually trying to do was send him on his summer break,

"I know, the nerve of the fool. The old Fudge would have done so..." Lucy began angrily; she had not found the thing amusing. If she had never of met Harry then he might have been condemned here without being able to talk to them; the manipulative fool.

_"Calm... the old Fudge is not here and that is what counts. What Harry did was what we were trying to do, he proved that he would not be easily beaten and that has set Dumbledore back a few steps, his plans have been disrupted heavily this year and Harry was just the icing on the cake_," Dora interrupted firmly not wanting her sister to get upset about this. Lucy took a few moments to compose herself

_"I suppose you are right, you are right but this coming year will prove challenging," _Lucy sighed, Dumbledore would try even harder this time round.

_"I don't doubt it but I have a strange feeling Harry will know what to do, he has protected his friends and himself all year round and if he can do once then he can do it again_," Dora assured her.

The next day 

"So did she kill you?" Draco wondered as Harry appeared with Lucy from the shadows, he gave him a really look and Lucy looked at Harry obviously she was saying something. Every summer she had to go on a ministry mandated course of some kind and Harry would stay with the Malfoy's.

"She says not yet," Harry translated looking slightly nervous, Draco laughed as Lucius moved forward to greet Lucy and Harry. Narcissa was out but she would be back later,

"Good to see you both," Lucius announced warmly but Draco noticed a flicker of something in his eye, suspicion? no, something else. It was as if he was trying to read Harry in some way, his eyes twinkled but nothing came of it and Draco supposed his father was just being his father.

"Bye mum," Harry turned to the Dementor who said the same back, Draco couldn't understand them but he could tell it was a goodbye of some kind seeing as the two embraced for a moment then Lucy nodded to Lucius and vanished. Shadow travel looked fun, Harry couldn't go very far yet but had managed to move himself across Malfoy Manor with ease. Ah good times ,

"How you doing mate?" Draco wondered as Dobby apparated in and took his luggage, the elf had been considerably quiet these last few days but no one really noticed. Draco shook his friends hands and they walked into the manor.

Later

Harry flew through the air, Draco had invited Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy over today. Cho and Hermione were busy but they would visit in a few days. Draco had taken initiative and divided the teams up fairly; well it was him, Crabbe and Goyle against Harry and Pansy. He had tried getting Harry on his team but Pansy pretty much threatened to slap him if he tried ganging up on her, Draco made no comment about this. Harry decided to invite her along more often if she could keep Draco in line, either way they had walked over to the Quidditch pitch and ascended into the air. It was a good day for it , there was no wind, a warm sun and everything was peaceful.

"On your marks, get set... go!" Draco announced sending a stream of sparks into the air, Harry moved first. He dived through the defence (Crabbe and Goyle) before attempting to snatch the Quaffle from Draco; his hand reached for it and then.

"Nope," Draco said dropping it into Goyle's hand who was suddenly awaiting below. Harry braked and swerved around but before he could even make a move to intercept Pansy charged Goyle who threw the Quaffle up for her to catch, it was not a move he made willingly but because she was trying to charge him. Luckily she caught it and in a move that could rival Harry she dodged Crabbe and threw it to Harry.

"Nope," Draco said again veering upwards; he knew Harry's techniques and plucked the quaffle in mid flight. Harry had anticipated this and swerved to take it out of Draco's hands, it worked and Draco cursed as Harry cruised towards the goal. He scored the first point,

"Damn it," Draco muttered.

Meanwhile 

As they were playing Dobby watched, he was worried and scared for Harry Potter, he felt a link to Harry for some reason but Dobby knew what was going on. Arthur Weasley had no right to order that raid so he must have some support higher up in the ministry, Dobby was no fool and he knew how things worked but that was not all he knew. He also knew that the diary was the intended target of the raid; Arthur Weasley had been instructed to get the diary and Dobby knew what it would do. History would repeat itself and he needed to stop Harry Potter from getting hurt.

Later

When he was at Malfoy manor Harry slept in one of the many guest rooms available, this one was reserved just for him to use though some changes had been made. The bed now had a Ravenclaw blue cover while the carpet was green, a dark chair rested opposite a fireplace which was contained in silver casing. Evidently the Malfoy's did not want him to forget that he was allied with Slytherins; he wouldn't have any way but the thought was nice he supposed

"Ok you can come out now Dobby," Harry sighed; he had read the elf's mind earlier and found two things. Firstly all personal information was inaccessible as it was part of the elf's mind not contained by the slavery bond, which would allow his master access to his thoughts and plans, secondly Dobby wanted to meet up with him. He had always felt sorry for Dobby, he was treated a little better now but wanted to find some way to free him

"Harry Potter sir?" Dobby questioned appearing from seemingly nowhere, he had been intending to surprise Harry after all.

"You wanted to meet up, what's wrong?" Harry asked hoping the elf was not being mistreated. Dobby looked down and seemed conflicted for a moment, then he looked up.

"Something very bad is going to happen at Hogwarts, something dark," he began slowly, Harry frowned.

"What's going to happen Dobby?" Harry asked gently, the elf was clearly scared if his drooping ears and wide eyes were anything to go by. Then Dobby vanished and it was as if the conversation had never happened.

Meanwhile 

Meanwhile

Arthur Weasley walked along a darkened alley, it was night and no one was around but this was not a normal walk. He was on his way to a meeting, a meeting that could shape the very future of the wizarding world, the meeting was run by Dumbledore. So when he arrived at what most would assume was a dark wall he tapped it with his wand three times and stepped through. He was in a dimly lit room, a number of people sat around a circular table in the centre and he could see Dumbledore and other members of the group.

"Arthur," Dumbledore greeted gesturing for him to sit on an empty seat, Arthur did and saw his wife across the table looking eager to begin. Then he reached into his pocket and withdrew a book, it was the same book they had been searching for a long time.

"Good," a voice announced lowly, Arthur turned to see a robed figure at one end of the room. He had no idea who it was and the only person who did was Dumbledore, Arthur nodded at the real head of the order.

"So what do we do with it now?" Molly asked, she had no idea of what the diary was and she was not the only one. Arthur thought it was only a key to the chamber, the truth only two people in this room knew.

"We use it open the chamber, then Harry Potter will be forced to go down there and he will find a connection with Ginny," Dumbledore replied as if it was obvious.

"Is this plan going to work as well as your other one?" someone asked from the table, Dumbledore chuckled.

"This plan I assure you cannot fail and once Harry meets Ginny we will have a direct link to him and he will play into our hands," the figure announced darkly.

"And what of his upbringing in Azkban?" someone else inquired with concern in their voice; the news had been disturbing to them all.

"What about it?" Dumbledore asked, the person spoke in an irritated voice.

"How will it affect us? he has played out of your hands this year. Ron Weasley did not make contact," they explained. Dumbledore smiled and raised a hand

"That was an oversight, one that cannot happen again," Dumbledore assured them all in a grandfatherly tone, then he looked at Molly. The figure then spoke

"And if this plan does not then as it was your idea Molly to have him rescue Ginny and get the sword of Gryffindor then your life will be the forfeit," the figure announced calmly. Molly Weasley shuddered slightly as the threat washed over her.

"Don't worry he will be friends with Ginny before the year is out and then we can work on their eventual marriage," Molly announced faithfully after taking a moment to regain herself; the threat was real and she knew it.

"He better," the figure replied darkly.

**This mysterious figure is not an OC! but if anyone can guess who it is in a review I will let them know if they are right.**

**See if you can guess**

**Apple **


	26. Chapter 26

Raised By Darkness chapter 26

**As a note no one has worked out the mysterious figure yet. Thanks for reading **

**Apple**

Harry and Lucy walked down Diagon Alley, it was that time of year when the two of them would go out and get Harry's school supplies for the new school year. Lucy was still technically on some kind of Ministry mandated training program but she was given this one day off in order to care for Harry; it was on Fudge's orders and now the whole world thought he had a Dementor bodyguard there was no need for secrecy. A few people nodded in his direction but most just scuttled away when they saw Lucy, Dementors were still considered dark creatures by a lot of people but at least a few people were changing their views.

"_Are you ok Harry?" _Lucy asked suddenly, Harry had been dwelling on Dobby. Neither party had acknowledged the brief conversation in his room but whatever Dobby was scared of or worried about troubled Harry. House elf magic was more in tune with the natural world and if they were scared of something then there was a good reason behind it,

"Yeah I'm fine thanks," Harry replied warmly,

"_Who is Gilderoy Lockhart?" _Lucy asked suddenly staring at Harry's list of books for the New Year, his name was on most of them and most of them looked like gossip or fan made material. It was about this man winning awards, fighting monsters and a load of other stuff that Lucy found ungrounded, she unlike human mothers were not immediately gushing for the man's autograph or fainting when he smiled.

"No idea, though I think Draco's mum likes him," Harry responded thoughtfully remembering Narcissa had a number of books on the man, most of them were on his school list and according to Draco who had picked up one by mistake once there was more flirting in that book than information.

"Harry!" A voice startled Harry and as he turned around he was engulfed in a crushing hug by Hermione who had appeared out of nowhere

"Hermione!" Harry greeted completely caught off guard as the bushy haired girl embraced him, Lucy nodded to Hermione who greeted her after releasing Harry.

"Harry!" he was hit by another hug as Cho appeared, obviously she and Hermione had arrived together and once again he was wrapped in an embrace.

"You must be Lucy," Cho greeted smiling at the Dementor, Lucy nodded again and Harry told the two that she said hello.

"I'm terrified Draco's going to hug me next," Harry joked,

"No I'm fine," Draco announced dryly walking up to them, Crabbe and Goyle were with him and it looked like they were all here together.

"_Why don't you go and get your new books while I go to the potions shop?" _Lucy suggested warmly seeing her son was preoccupied with his friends, Harry smiled and thanked her before she flew away.

"So how is everyone?" Harry wondered aloud as the six of them walked towards Flourish and Blotts,

"Fine, I've got some guy living in my house for some reason," Draco joked before he was hit by an irritated glare from five people.

"Sorry for speaking... anyone else had anything interesting happen to them?" he asked, the next few minutes was spent talking about how summer had gone for them all. Cho and Hermione lived near each other so were spending a lot of time together, Hermione impressed them with a display of sparks which she and Cho had learnt on one of their study sessions. Crabbe and Goyle as Harry knew were mostly hanging around Draco's but they had been around the ministry a few times when their dads tried to get them interested in politics. On the whole it didn't work,

"Anyone else feel like something bad is going to happen the moment we walk inside this shop?" Draco wondered pushing the door open,

"You're paranoid," Cho remarked following him into the shop...

"What's this some kind of book signing?" Hermione asked seeing a long queue at one end of the shop, Draco squinted and looked up into the shop, he could see a lot of the queue was made up of women who were clutching.

"Uh oh," Draco sighed as a loud voice filled the shop, it was booming and suddenly a man appeared. He walked with a swagger and his flamboyant blue and purple robes were almost blinding, he had long wavy blond hair and a face that seemed forever morphed into a smile.

"Harry Potter!" he spoke each syllable loudly and these two words alone took enough time, then Harry found himself pulled into a handshake, the man had an iron grip and his friends didn't know whether to stand back or draw their wands.

"Gilderoy Lockhart," Draco muttered to Harry who as far as he was concerned was being either kidnapped or attacked by some random nutter.

"Possibly the only wizard in this room as equally famous as me, tell me Harry my boy what brings you here today?" he asked the room rather than Harry who answered.

"Just getting my school books," Lockhart let out a huge booming laugh and grinned to one member of the crowd who had a camera, the blinding flash left Harry visionless for a few seconds.

"Ah the joys of being a student, well I suppose there is no better time to announce this than now but I will be personally taking up the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor in Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry," he may have spoken the words charismatically but Harry's blood went cold. He did not like the man at all and if his mind was anything to go by he was going to be the wors... second worst teacher Harry had ever had. Draco and his Cho were looking at each other with confusion and dread while Hermione looked almost hopeful as Lockhart turned his attention towards them

"Ah, the infamous six, come on you lot any friend of Harry's is a friend of mine," he announced, Hermione rushed up and everything she had read about Lockhart was obviously going to her head. Draco and Cho however would have probably stayed where they were if not for the crowd pushing them forward; Crabbe and Goyle were also presented not a few seconds later.

"Ahh so good so see such prospective intelligent looking students well I think you deserve a treat for coming on up here, so here you all go. My complete works all signed by me and will be worth quite a great deal in the future," he announced as a pile of books was forced into Harry and his friend's hands, then Lockhart announced something to the crowd and the book signing continued.

"What the hell just happened?" Cho spoke what they were all thinking and the honest answer was none of them knew.

"Can I just say my earlier concerns were justified?" Draco asked her, she fixed him with an icy glare and said nothing,

"Can I agree with Draco on this one?" Hermione announced.

"No," Cho answered for her, Lockhart was now talking to the women and making remarks that made Draco look like a world class comedian.

"Please for the love of God can anvil fall on his head?" Draco begged looking up "I just can't take an entire year of that,"

"Maybe he'll be ok," Hermione suggested meekly,

"Yeah and maybe we'll end up fighting an eighty foot spider at some point this year," Draco countered dryly; he now had two people glaring at him. Though the prize for being glared at was taken by another source as the icy voice of Ron Weasley filled their ears

"Can't even go into a bookshop without showing off," he spat, in that one moment six pairs of eyes were focused on him and Crabbe and Goyle took a step forward.

"Boys don't fight with him, please the effort it would take to wipe the floor with him is not worth your time," Draco announced causing Ron to turn on him with vibrant red ears.

"Sorry that's not normal have you been checked by a healer because glowing ears is not a common trait?" Cho asked him looking slightly repelled.

"She has a got a point," Hermione agreed looking at his brightly coloured ears with distaste.

"Look people if we're going over all of his faults then we're going to be here all day, let's just go," Draco decided.

"What could you two do anyway? You dumber than trolls!" Ron sneered at Crabbe and Goyle

"And yet they both got higher grades than you," Harry pointed out. Crabbe and Goyle took a step back

"Your right, we don't have the time for this," Crabbe decided, Goyle looked at Ron gruffly but did not make a move, for a moment there was some kind of standoff as Ron refused to move and Harry wondered if he could get away with throwing the irritating boy out of the window. His answer came to him unfortunately in the form of a plump woman with long red hair who had seen part of what was going on, or had found an excuse to have a go at Harry Potter who had made her life miserable for the whole year.

"What are you doing to my son?" she demanded in a voice that made her sound like the world's most overprotective mother. In many ways she was but Harry did not care,

"Standing here talking to him," Draco remarked. Maybe once he would have shown some respect to this woman but after facing Voldemort himself and meeting her son he really did not care

"No you're bullying him!" Molly corrected in a huff; angry that a Malfoy was showing her up in public, Harry looked at her warily knowing that they would not be getting out of this easily,

"I really don't think this constitutes as bullying," Hermione pointed out defending her friends

"DON'T YOU DARE CORRECT ME YOU FILT," she began in a rage

"Shut up!" Harry demanded coolly, whatever she was going to say was lost as she turned on Harry, in her rage she raised a hand to slap him and before Harry could move to defend she was bringing her hand down towards him and... the force of a car threw her to the floor. A scabbed hand had pushed her forward and not kindly, Lucy had just flown into the shop; she had no idea what had happened all she saw was her child in danger. The shop was silent now, some had been watching with interest before Molly had shouted but her outburst had shocked everyone, now people were watching a Dementor gliding around Molly Weasley angrily.

"Wha..." the red haired woman began in a slight daze then she screamed as a voice pierced her mind like a knife.

_You tried to attack my son! _Lucy hissed in her mind, anger was radiating off her and already the lights in the shop were flickering, Harry hadn't seen her this angry since they had first met and had a dark feeling this was not going to end well.

"He's a," Molly spat trying to justify herself, then she wavered as she realised what she was speaking to and the reality of the event sunk in.

_Would you like to finish that sentence? _Lucy demanded in her mind, Molly shook her head as her blood almost froze in fear. Lucy's chill was in full effect and it was only Harry's influence that stopped his friends being affected,

"Let's all calm down now," a calm and reasonable voice suggested as Lucius Malfoy entered the shop, he held his arms up and while not caring for the Weasley's at all did not want a fight to break out in the middle of the shop. Lucy looked at him for a few seconds as did Molly, then Lucy's chill vanished and she glided back a few metres, Molly looked up; grabbed Ron and promptly ran out of the shop. Lockhart was now hiding under the desk as the angry Dementor scanned the room,

"See how much easier it is to fight a troll with a Dementor," Draco joked.


	27. Chapter 27

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 27

Harry moved through Azkaban through the air once more, he had been feeling bored for the last few days of the summer since returning to his home and only had a few days left before he needed to get the train. Lucy was on patrol and today there was a definite sea breeze and mist which ensured he would not be going with her today; he could still feel the cold while she as a Dementor could not. Or so he thought but it was never something he had discussed with his adoptive mother, though today was a special day as today was his twelfth birthday.

"Harry! Happy Birthday!" Bellatrix greeted with a wide smile as he entered the maximum security ward, for some reason his aunt had been far livelier and for Sirius looked like he was on his deathbed from sheer annoyance.

"Hello Bella, Sirius," he replied with a smile,

"Hey pup, Happy birthday," Sirius greeted almost sleepily as he lay on the ground of his cell,

"How are you two?" he asked, he had seen them pretty much every day and their answer rarely changed but it was the thought that counted.

"Oh nothing much, you know the usual; talking, chatting, laughing, crying, planning a daring escape and the rest of the stuff we get up to," Bella joked, Harry laughed but for some reason got the inclination that something was hidden in her words. But he was not here to do detective work so he disregarded this feeling immediately

"Send me a postcard from wherever you two end up," Harry smiled continuing the joke, Bella nodded enthusiastically

"Sure, dear Harry we are fine, love from Bella and Sirius who are not in Hawaii," she murmured to herself about what she would write.

"Now once again we would have bought you a present but living here means we only have a few shopping locations so we'll just pool the money, the running total is nine hundred galleons or so," Sirius laughed;

"You could get a broom with that," Harry pointed out.

"Not that you need one, maybe we could market you. The new Harry broom, only one in the world and gives rides if you're under eight stone," Bella considered and for the second time Harry wondered if she was joking or not. His concerns quickly melted away however as they branched into conversation and for a while they just talked,

"_Harry," _Lucy called suddenly cutting their conversation short once more, she had chosen an all night duty so she would be free today for his birthday.

"Well good luck with the escape see you," Harry waved goodbye to his aunt and Godfather who grinned.

"Should we tell him?" Bella asked darkly

"No, we need to plan and get your form up and running before anything happens," Sirius told her gravely; they were planning an escape for next year and both knew that Harry couldn't know about it.

"Ok but he's going to miss us," Bella pointed out

"I know," Sirius sighed with evident hurt and worry.

Meanwhile 

The owls had come in flocks this year, last time it had been a few but this year a lot more appeared. Lucy could only sense individual animals vaguely but the amount of owls sent her senses sky rocketing. She sighed ever so slightly as the first entered the room, dropped a package and left which was repeated about twenty or so times.

"_Harry," _she called using their mental connection, the one they were actually using to spy on each other's minds but for now their agreement was lasting... how long it would last was something else.

"Hey mum, are they for me?" Harry wondered when he finally arrived and looked slightly surprised he got so many cards and presents, some were from his friends while others were from well wishers who had been given a ministry address for Harry Potter.

"_Yes," _Lucy replied, she held a badly wrapped brown package which Harry smiled at, she spent so much time doing things for him it was unreal and when she handed her present to him he opened it first. A book with a rabbit, dog and fox fell out and Harry looked slightly confused; he had no idea what the book was about

"_I found your animagus research notes and the book, I thought if you're serious about this which I think you are then I should help in any way I can. This book gives you the recipe for a four month potion which will unlock your inner self, it also has a tips on what each animal say's about you," _she explained and Harry had to smile. He pulled her into an embrace which she returned, a sign of their solid relationship as mother and son,

"Thank you," he whispered. The present was amazing enough but her help was invaluable, her approval meant a lot to Harry and her helping him unlock his animal form showed she approved.

"_Anyway let's see what else you've got," _she suggested suddenly and Harry turned to the pile of presents. The first was a piece of parchment from Draco but there was something very different about it;

_Hi_ the words suddenly appeared onto the page and Harry jumped back slightly.

_Oh yeah I should have mentioned it's enchanted, whatever you write on this I can read and vice versa _Draco explained via the enchantment. Harry looked and grabbed for a quill

_Very clever _he wrote back

_I know I am_ was Draco's response. Hermione sent him a diary which as he found out quickly shouted at him if he missed or forget a date; a strangely appropriate present which Harry decided would help him not forget. Cho had sent him a Quiditch guide and underlined one of the rules that said a player cannot fly on anything other than a broom; she had also included annotations on what she thought they should do in the next game. Crabbe and Goyle had sent a wizard chess set with cartoon paintings of all six of them on the black pieces which Harry thought was quite witty considering everything that had happened. Hagrid sent him a plate of rock cakes, Neville had sent him a herbology guide which was the only subject Harry found hard; not the theory itself but the fact plants seemed to die when he was around them.

Lucius and Narcissa had bought him a book titled _how to act like a pureblood _which was surprising considering Harry himself was no pureblood; Pansy had sent him a book on how to pick up girls which Harry decided to put down until he was sixteen after looking at the third page. Fudge had sent him another book called _Politics in magical Britain _and Harry was pleased to discover the Weasley's had not sent him anything.

September 1st

The funniest moment of the day was seeing Molly Weasley's face when Lucy swooped in with Harry, they had both decided to use shadow travel and after the exhilaration of speeding through the underworld had worn off he saw Molly take a few steps back.

"_I'm going to miss you even more this year," _Lucy sighed as they approached the train, there was still half an hour to go so after they had loaded Hedwig and his trunk into the train they were left with nothing much to do.

"I'm going to miss you to," Harry confessed, if Lucy had lips she would smile but instead pulled Harry into a deep embrace, then halfway through Harry found a third person had joined them. Literally someone else was hugging them both, he pulled back to see a young girl beaming at them for no apparent reason. She was a new first year judging by her size but her short blond hair seemed slightly odd due to a bright orange hair band that cut vertically through her hair instead of horizontal, her wand was perched on her ear and she was dressed in a luminous green cardigan and a long skirt which seemed comprised of two different fabrics.

"Hello?" Harry greeted looking at Lucy who looked at the girl; who was she? And why had she joined their embrace

"Hello," she smiled back at them acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

"_Right I'm confused," _Lucy announced, Harry could only agree and moved to ask the girl who she was.

"Oh was I interrupting, Sorry but the Dementor's hug has been known to have a number of benefits, unlike the kiss which can only be administered by two soul bonded Dementors or a human and Dementor who are soul bound and if they are not soul bound then the soul is removed from the person," she explained looking at Harry with unblinking eyes.

"_Whatever she's taking you need to stay away from," _Lucy told Harry looking slightly awkward. She then asked Harry a few questions which he answered but found himself wondering if she knew more than he thought; her dreamy voice seemed to mask curiosity and she made a number of comments which Harry found strange and yet accurate.

"Luna dear where have you been, oh you found a Dementor. Good to see your making friends already,"a man announced as he approached from behind and Harry assumed was her father. He had much longer blond hair which went down to his shoulders and rested on his brown robes with golden symbols all over it, instead of introducing himself he just pulled Lucy into a hug.

"_What is going on!" _she screeched to Harry as another of these strange people embraced her for no apparent reason.

"I'm Xenophilius Lovegood and it's a pleasure to meet you," he nodded "Come on Luna let's get your stuff on the train before any Nargles show up." And they left without another word.

"_What the hell just happened?" _Lucy demanded.

The train

The six of them were sat in their normal compartment chatting and catching up, however about half an hour into the journey the strange blond first year entered the compartment.

"Excuse me can I sit here?" she asked bluntly, Harry was about to say yes when Draco stood up. While Luna was a little strange for some reason Harry found himself liking her, she seemed interesting enough if not a bit mental and she was nice. Her father was the same and while Lucy may disagree the family seemed like good people

"That depends on if you can pass the test," Draco announced dramatically.

"What test?" Cho demanded

"The test to see if you eligible to join the group," Draco answered acting as if this was a formality.

"I don't remember taking a test," Hermione pointed looking slightly confused as to what Draco was on about, Draco ignored them.

"Ignore them but first you need to answer question one. Are you a maniac?" Draco asked Luna gently who nodded without really thinking about it.

"Then you're going to fit in just fine around here," Draco beamed showing her to the seat next to Cho

"And then there were seven," Harry pointed out, seven was a powerful magical number and there was always space for more in this group. Always, so the conversations continued and Luna interjected with a number of things that often resulted in Hermione mouthing _what, _Draco making a comment which ended up with Cho threatening to kill him and Harry trying not to laugh when Luna brought up a giant invisible dragon called Bob she had heard flying once to Crabbe and Goyle.

"Hello," a voice squeaked from outside and Harry turned to see a flash of red hair run out of sight, he looked confused.

"Great now we're being stalked," Draco sighed before turning back to whatever conversation he and Cho were engaged in, most of it seemed to be vain threats with Luna interjecting about random stuff but Harry relaxed slightly. Luna already seemed like part of the group and with a new member then this year was going to be interesting. Very interesting indeed.


	28. Chapter 28

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 28

"Ok Class listen up today I have a treat for you," Lockhart was ranting on but this time Harry was made to listen as the "teacher" paced up and down the room. A rattling cage which Harry knew to be Cornish Pixies was sat on his desk and Harry wondered how long the insufferable man was going to drag this out, Draco had his head on his desk and Harry was slowly beginning to wonder if he was asleep. He felt like sleeping to; Luna's many stories and ideas were far more interesting than this guy whose only qualification was he could pick up a quill. He had already spent half the lesson on himself and that test

_What is __Gilderoy__ Lockhart's favourite food_

_What is his favourite colour_

_What is his... _it just went on and on but Harry had to admit Draco had actually been able to make a joke. When Lockhart came to collect the papers he had looked at his work with slight surprise

"No Incompetence is not my favourite hobby," he mumbled aloud as he read through the paper.

"My favourite colour is not _who the hell cares_, nor is my favourite food _Brain Damaging pills _and my proudest achievement is not graduating from Pre-school,"

"Not even they could pass him," Draco had commented before the man had started this pacing up and down for dramatic effect. Though Lockhart was an idiot it would have been harder for him not to notice Draco almost asleep now, Harry could enter this guy's mind like a twenty four hour cafe. It was always wide open and he had no defences, though there was a lot of interesting things inside which he may need to alert some officials. Something involving one hell of a lot of fraud

"I don't think you should be sleeping right now Mr Malfoy for there are dark things in this room that prey on the unaware," Lockhart yelled suddenly seeing Draco on the edge of falling asleep, the blond haired boy looked up and Harry decided if he made a comment then he wouldn't really care.

"Out of interest what OWL's do you have?" Draco asked suddenly but he was ignored.

"You are going to face the darkest, most terrifying creature known to wizard kind," the man suddenly announced darkly and most of the girls in the room swooned as his eyes met theirs. Some looked worried and slowly as his hand closed around the cage's covering and pulled it off. For some unknown reason a slight scream went through the room and then silence as the blue pixies chewed on the bars of the cage.

"Does Gilderoy Lockhart have A brain damage, B mental issues or C is a cu..." Draco trailed off as Hermione stamped on his foot before he could swear, she looked tired and she had the right to be. Apparently her and Luna had been up most of the night arguing about the existence of heffalumps and their honey stealing ways, so she wasn't really in the mood for Draco today. Though she did laugh at his first comments

"Cornish Pixies?" someone questioned suddenly and the man nodded.

"Sure they might seem harmless but let's see how much trouble they'll be... now!" he yelled flinging the cage open and releasing hundreds of the little things into the class.

"Dive!" Draco ordered to Harry and Hermione who just dodged the oncoming swarm with seconds to spare by hiding under their desks.  
"What do we do?" Draco wondered aloud not wanting to say he had no idea.

"Their pixies, we just need to get them back in the cage," Hermione explained rolling her eyes at him

"I'll leave that to you two then and hey look its Crabbe and Goyle," Draco pointed to the two who were now in the air as the pixies lifted them higher and higher.

"Good to see their making friends anyway I'll leave the whole saving us thing to you," Draco nodded suddenly looking to turn away, Hermione however grabbed him and pulled him back.

"I just knew that wouldn't work," he sighed as Hermione glared at him, she looked thoughtful for a moment then looked at Harry and back at Draco.

"I could immobilise them but one of those pixies grabbed my wand," she confessed pointed to one of the many creatures zooming around, Draco looked at the wand and at Harry.

"Well only one of us can fly," he began

"But he'll need a distraction," Hermione decided darkly pushing Draco towards Harry who grabbed him but the back

"Ok the plan is, I'll throw you at them while I grab the wand any issues?" Harry wondered knowing that he was mainly doing this for his own amusement but pixies weren't dangerous enough to not be funny right now.

"Yes I have a few..." Draco began as Harry zoomed into the air dragging Draco along with him, he yelped slightly but the pixies moved as a swarm to combat these two new entities flying through the air.

"Ok now I'm going to throw you at them," Harry pointed out and before Draco could protest he was flung towards the pixies who were actually a pretty good cushion but when they grabbed him he was less sure this was a good idea. Though Harry was able to snatch Hermione's wand as the pixies tried to hang him from the roof in the same way they hung Crabbe and Goyle.

"Remind me what the hell just happened," Draco requested as he heard a cry from behind and the pixies froze.

"Wait a moment," Draco muttered as he realised if the pixies froze then he would be dropped but it was too late as in that moment he fell from the ceiling as was only saved by Harry grabbing him just before he smashed into the floor. Lockhart was now studying his destroyed classroom and smiled

"See with my help you can take on anything," he announced trying to take credit for their work.

"You're throwing him next time," Draco growled looking at the professor darkly.

"Deal," Harry replied.

Later

"They do,"

"They don't!"

"They do!"

"Shut up!" Cho demanded eventually in the Great Hall, both Hermione and Luna looked at her; they had been arguing on/off for the last two days and it was getting really irritating. Cho and Hermione both liked Luna but whenever she spouted some of her theories Cho would ignore her pretty much but Hermione would argue to the death which for some reason ended up irritating the third year.

"Woozles? Cho really, I just," Hermione began, Cho just rolled her eyes. Crabbe and Goyle just looked away; not really wanting to be part of the conversation. Well at least not this one and Cho really couldn't blame them

"Look I don't care if what Winne the Pooh says is real or not let me just concentrate on the three page essay I have and we can argue with Luna afterwards, well I don't really want to argue but I do want to do this essay so shhh!" Cho requested in the calmest voice she could manage. Hermione nodded and reluctantly went back to reading

"So Luna your dad makes the Quibber," Goyle began slightly awkwardly but Luan nodded

"Daddy says it's the most accurate magazine now," she replied looking slightly proud

"That's good," Crabbe hoped not knowing if it was or not, Luna for her part just beamed at them

"He wants to do a story on Harry and use it to prove that the Crumple Horned Snorack helped him learn to fly," Luna commented as Harry and Draco walked over.  
"Good Luck with that," Cho sighed sarcastically

"Thank you! statically you are more likely to succeed when someone tries to damper your plans " Luna beamed in her dreamy voice. Cho said nothing

"Hi people," Draco greeted, Cho put the essay down; she wasn't going to finish her homework tonight it seemed, then she noticed Harry frown for a moment. Then he relaxed but before she could ask him what was wrong Draco spoke up

"So how's things here? no one 's dead yet which is a plus," he remarked, Cho looked at him and wondered if she could get away with punching him, unfortunately McGonagall was nearby so the answer was no.

"Can you hear something?" Harry suddenly asked out of the blue, Cho looked around but could hear nothing except the other student's chatter and just general noises.

"I think someone's lost it," Draco whispered as Harry looked around again, it was like they were being watched or something but Harry was acting as if someone was talking to him.

"So what are you three doing?" Goyle asked trying to diffuse the tension around Harry who was acting slightly strange.

"Oh I think Hermione was hit by a mindathor," Luna confessed looking at the bushy haired girl warily, Hermione rolled her eyes and turned to Luna. Luckily any argument that would have taken place was halted by Harry who suddenly looked worried .

"One moment," he suddenly decided before turning around and practically sprinting away, Draco looked at Cho who nodded.

"Fine let's go," Draco sighed.

Meanwhile 

_Let me Rip, Let me tear, Let me kill _the voice was saying over and over in Harry's ear and he had already worked out it wasn't Lucy on any Dementor. Firstly it was a much deeper voice and Dementors did not physically eat anything but only fed on positive emotions ; so what was this voice he was hearing and why was he hearing it. So he had followed the sound of the voice up the grand staircase and suddenly he found himself in a very wet corridor, it had been flooded by someone and Harry was vaguely reminded of a ghost he had heard about haunting one of the bathrooms or something. Great so this dark mysterious voice had targeted a flooded corridor

"Harry!" Cho's voice was the first I heard but was followed very quickly by another

"Oh your ok! I was worried the Nargles got to you," Luna shouted and once again Harry found himself confused by her,

"I'm fine thanks Luna," he assured her as Hermione appeared and was about to say something.

"Are you sure? people saying their fine are twice as likely to die of shock or disease, should we check,"

"Luna..." Herminie began

"Not now!" Cho ordered not wanting to be stuck in another argument between Luna and Hermione then she turned to Harry and was obviously worried.  
"Are you ok? what happened? you just ran out," she asked obviously concerned, Harry for his part had no idea. All he knew was the voice he was hearing was close by

"People I think we're in trouble," Hermione sighed suddenly, Draco moved first and suddenly he looked at one of the walls.

"Not again," Draco sulked realising that this was the start of another adventure.  
"What?" Luna wondered not sure why he was so annoyed

"Luna remember when I said you needed to be mental to join this group?" Draco wondered aloud and the girl nodded.

"Well there was a reason and it involves this group being roped into things, you know. Giant Chess Games, fighting Dark Lords and the like and it looks like we are at the start of another grand adventure," he announced sarcastically

"Am I not going to like this?" Luna asked Draco who considered her question..

"Depends because at some point this year we will be fighting another dark force and it seems to be the one right behind me now," Draco replied as he turned to see the wall.

_The Chamber of Secrets Has been Opened, Enemies of the Heir beware _was all it said,

"Is that blood?" Cho wondered

"Oh yes, blood sticks really well to walls and is very good at making messages," Luna confirmed not caring either way. Harry for his part looked at the message, whatever this was it was connected to the voice which meant this was another thing designed perfectly for him.

"I think we should be careful," Harry advised, Draco smirked.

"So do I," he announced pointing towards the wall, Harry turned and his blood went cold as he saw Mrs Norris hanging upside down from the wall and by the sounds of it the man himself was coming towards them. This was not going to end well

"Damn it," Crabbe and Goyle said as one.


	29. Chapter 29

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 

**Good news I have finally decided upon a pairing for all the characters; the bad news is I am not going to tell you. Oh and no one has yet worked out who the mysterious figure is (not Grindlewald, Aberforth ect) **

Filch, it had to be him who found them in a flooded corridor with his cat hanging upside down next to a message written in blood. It just had to be him

"I second the motion that this is not going to end well," Luna interjected with the slight trace of a smile as Filch saw Mrs Norris. Then like something out of a movie scene his face fell and he ran towards his cat with a speed that far defied his age, he hugged the frozen cat and sniffed loudly as he clutched the only constant in his life.

"I think we should go," Draco suggested slowly edging away from the scene hoping they could remain undetected, however once again his idea fell down when Filch turned round with a furious expression in his eyes.

"You murdered my cat!" he spat glaring at Harry who was closest, his finger now hovered a few inches from Harry's nose

"YOU!" He growled and moved to grab Harry but was instead met by six wands all pointed at him

"Try it," Cho suggested as the group adopted a defensive position against the man, he may be a squib but they were not going to have him attacking any member of the group. Filch for his part looked torn but before he could make any decision as to what he was going to do an elderly voice filled the room

"Put those away," Albus Dumbledore demanded as he strolled down the corridor along with what looked like a hundred students and every head of year, Harry considered for a moment and nodded for his friends to lower their wands; they did but cast Filch a threatening glare.

"Now what is going on here?" Dumbledore asked as Lockhart swooped into the scene, Harry just sighed wondering how this was going to get any worse. The man pranced over the water and scowled in distaste as his designer shoes touched the water, however he managed to cast aside whatever he was feeling and instead turned to Mrs Norris.

"Ahh yes, the Transmogrifian Torture curse, a shame I wasn't here earlier I know just the counter curse which could have saved her," he announced mournfully shaking his head before turning to Filch who paled. The students behind including Ron Weasley were suddenly fixated on the group  
"He did it! He's the murderer" Ron accused suddenly seeing a chance to further his claims that Harry was dark,

"She's not dead," Luna interjected suddenly and all eyes were on here,

"Mrs Lovegood of course she is, look at..." Lockhart announced flamboyantly hoping to impress the crowd with a show of intelligence. Luna for her part ignored him and walked over to the cat, Luna instead put her hand on Mrs Norris (Filch moved to say something but decided against it)

"Did no one check for a heartbeat? She's petrified and breathing, did no one think of that really? I mean no offence you really can't live without your heart beating," she asked aloud, Lockhart suddenly looked awkward and Harry smiled at Luna who didn't think anything of what she had done.

"Yes I agree with Miss Lovegood, she is petrified not dead." Dumbledore confirmed and Harry avoided his gaze. The man was obviously up to something and once again it seemed Harry needed to find out what

"What does it matter?" Filch suddenly barked with hateful eyes turned on Harry, "My cat has been petrified; I want to see some punishment,"

"Um we didn't do it," Draco pointed out realising they had no evidence, Filch glared at him next but Snape interrupted before the caretaker could respond.

"He has a point Argus, we don't know what happened here and unless you some evidence it would be advisable to voice your ideas somewhere else," he hissed coolly moving through the air like a bat as he rushed to soothe the scene.

"That doesn't mean you don't need to explain what you are doing here," Snape pointed out looking towards the group who shrugged; how did they explain Harry was hearing voices or they had followed him without thinking.

"We..." Harry began

"Decided to take a detour, we wanted to show Luna more of the castle and we found this," Hermione finished coming up with the answer on the spot, Harry nodded in agreement. Snape frowned for a moment not believing them but his instincts were telling him these seven were not responsible so instead he turned back to Dumbledore who looked slightly irritated. Everyone else was supposed to suspect Harry so the boy would turn to him when Dumbledore was the only one protesting his innocence.

"There is a cure," Sprout suddenly announced stepping forward "There is a potion made from Mandrake roots and we already have a number of baby Mandrakes, all we need to do is wait until they are fully grown and then we can cure her."

"Of course I was just about to suggest the same thing," Lockhart beamed; he didn't notice the scowl Sprout gave him of course. Filch looked from left to right and realised he had no supporters

"Fine, but I want to know who did this," he sulked before storming off.

"Well if you don't mind we need to be going," Draco suddenly announced tugging Harry's sleeve slightly with a look that said _we need to talk now! _

"Yes we have homework and stuff," Harry confirmed.

"Yeah stuff," Crabbe and Goyle nodded seeing Draco wanted to talk but not knowing what else to say, Dumbledore studied them for a moment.

"I see no reason to keep you here but I warn you, be cautious, we should all be cautious this year," he told them sternly and with that he was gone.

"He knows way more than he's letting on," Cho worked out

"Well done, this year's Nobel Prize goes to Cho Chang for stating what we're all thinking," Draco remarked; Cho punched him quite quickly after that.

"Oww!" he murmured suddenly leading them down the corridor and back towards the Grand Staircase but instead of entering the actual staircase he took a left and ducked behind a tapestry. It was one of the passages the group would us

"So what is it? "Hermione asked as she too entered the alcove, she seemed puzzled about what he wanted. Draco waited a few moments until everyone was in the passage

"The Chamber of Secrets," he announced reminding them of the message inscribed on the wall.

"You know what it is?" Harry asked, Draco nodded darkly and for some reason Harry got the idea that the Chamber was not a good thing, if the blood on the wall didn't already tell him that.

"Well," Cho asked knowing Draco was pausing for dramatic tension.

"Well first I need to go back a thousand years or so, back then the four founders Godric, Rowena, Helga and Salazar had founded the school and were arguing on one key issue. Muggleborns, now in those days his concerns were justified as you know back then the church were burning and killing witches and wizards," Draco began trying to word his answers so he would not offend Hermione

"Yes we get it; Salazar was justified in some things," Hermione answered knowing he was doing it for her benefit. Draco nodded

"Ok anyway after a number of incidents Salazar left Hogwarts and built a chamber, a chamber underneath the school which was called,  
"The chamber of secrets," Cho finished and Draco beamed at her. He moved to clap sarcastically but her ice cold glare made him decide to move on with the story.

"No one knows why he built this chamber, and no one can ask him so many people speculated and searched for the chamber but it was never found. Never, and some say it was just a legend but apparently Salazar made the chamber so only his true heir could enter it. The heir of Slytherin," Draco finished darkly. For a few moments there was silence

"So you think..." Hermione asked

"The chamber has been opened," Draco confirmed and Harry thought about this for a moment.

"You left out the whole monster in the chamber," Luna pointed out suddenly. She had most likely heard this story from her dad or any of the strange books or magazines she read.

"Oh yeah and apparently there is a monster in the chamber," Draco continued nodding to Luna who smiled dreamily.

"A woozle?" she suggested suddenly, Hermione looked ready to burst a blood vessel but Harry stopped her saying anything.

"Maybe not a woozle Luna but something, if its real and to be honest I have a dark feeling it might be," Harry told her.

"You heard a voice and it took your right to the scene," Hermione pointed out.

"I know, something very dark is going on here and I don't think we've seen the end of it,"

"So let me guess, last year we spent the entire time trying to protect a secret chamber in the school and now we're going to spend this year finding one?" Goyle asked suddenly  
"And then we're going to go into it and stop whatever's in it?" Crabbe finished. Draco suddenly broke into a wide smile

"See these two get it," he announced.

"One sec, we're missing something here. Dumbledore obviously knew about the chamber but he has never mentioned it. I have never heard of him organising a search of the school or even warning anyone about the possibility so why is this happening now. It's a bit convenient since last year we had Quirrel to deal with and now we have this," Cho wondered suddenly

"What a school newsletter that would be, _Dear Parents as a note there may be a giant monster in our school that could kill your children." _Draco laughed.

"She's got a point," Harry nodded, surely if a monster had been living in the castle this whole time it would have been noticed or at the very least steps should have been taken just in case it attacked.

"Maybe he's behind it," Luna suggested suddenly. Harry shook his head

"No, I don't think he's opened it or attacked anyone but he is involved in something, something that I have feeling revolves around us," Harry sighed.

"Maybe not us Harry, but you. All these things we're in because of you, without you none of us would have gotten involved last year would we?" Cho pointed out.

"Maybe, Maybe not but let's for now focus on something else. This could have just been a prank or some kind, Maybe we're over reacting, only time will tell," Harry decided.

"Or we could try a more direct approach," Luna suddenly suggested, the group turned on her suddenly with no idea what she was on about.

"Well option one is to wait until someone else is attacked but option two is something a bit more risky, something that could get us expelled," she continued.  
"Luna what are you getting at?" Harry wondered slightly confused.

"Well in the muggle world when the police suspect someone they search their house, and if we think Dumbledore's involved them..." Luna trailed off knowing the rest of them would work it out soon enough.

"You think we should burgle his office," Cho summarised and Luna nodded

"We can find out what he knows, I mean he's got to keep files and things hasn't he," Luna pointed out.

"Or he catches us and we're thrown out of here so quickly our asses don't touch the floor," Draco warned knowing this was a risky train of thought.

"Maybe it's not such a bad idea," Harry murmured, he knew Dumbledore had been up to something from the very beginning and perhaps this could provide some answers not just about what was going on but what had always been going on. Something dark had always been going on around him and Dumbledore was the centre of the web

"Oh why not, at least if we get caught we won't get eaten by a monster," Draco decided aloud and with those words they all knew that their next adventure had just begun.


	30. Chapter 30

Raised by Darkness: Chapter 30

**Any Ideas for Luna's animagus form would be welcome as that is starting now**

**Apple**

"You realise the chances of this plan actually working are about a million to one and that's with some generous rounding?" Draco wondered as he and Harry stood a few feet away from the huge imposing eagle that would lead the way up to Dumbledore's office. It was night now and in the darkness of the corridors no one was around to see Draco or Harry, they had been planning to break into his office for two weeks and had finally worked out a plan

"Luna poured her blood, sweat and tears into this plan to make it work. So everything is going to be just fine," Harry decided

"This is the same girl who believes in a giant spaghetti monster?"Draco wondered aloud and Harry looked at him with his eyes raised, Draco for his part sighed and shook his head.

"Well might as well start the impending disaster now, so let's pretend I'm a random guy who has no idea why we're doing this or how we're doing this, so we're going to do what? walk in? don't teachers sleep in their offices?" He asked casually.

"Remember I said I had a distraction planned? well it should be starting any second... now,"

Meanwhile 

"Ready Fred?"  
"Ready George?" the twins were masked and on their broomsticks on the seventh floor of the grand staircase with wide grins on their face, Harry had come up with this idea and they were proud of the fact he had trusted them to do this while he burgled Dumbledore's office.

"Yes," the two nodded with wide grins and suddenly like a switch had been pulled in their minds they took off, the plan was simple but they had decided to take creative licence, both of them now held a bucket of paint. One that had been enchanted to never run out and all the portraits were suddenly watching with interest as the two zoomed up, a few ran off to get the professors but the rest were suddenly hit by a wave of orange paint which hit the walls in a splash, this was followed by a red splash and after a moment the wall was a stripy orange mess. The twins high fived each other in mid-air but the still had the rest of the room to do and only a short amount of time to do it in.

Dumbledore's office

Dumbledore came running out of his office a few moments obviously having been told what was going on by the many portraits in his office who as Harry suspected would be worried. Portraits moved through each other often which also meant they had formed attachments to paintings and other things which meant they would be running there now to see what had already been damaged and hopefully save whatever they wanted. The other's would just go to see what was going on, it was not every day two people through paint over the walls of the grand staircase

"Let's go," Harry whispered knowing their two main issues were gone, Dumbledore himself and the portraits

"That actually worked !" Draco remarked actually sounding surprised and Harry clicked his tongue, but he had to admit even he was worried Dumbledore wouldn't bite the bait.

"Yes now while standing here and remarking how well the distraction work is productive is it helping us break into his office at all?" Draco asked dryly,

"Sometimes Cho really does have a point when she mentions killing you," Harry muttered darkly as the two moved from their hiding place behind the pillar and moved towards the eagle, Harry grabbed Draco by the shoulders and quickly lifted them both up, Draco reached for the door

"Little bit forward, little more," he suggested reaching for it, Harry complied and made as if he was about to drop him; Draco opened the door pretty quickly into the dark dimly lit room.

"Wait did we consider wards?" Draco asked suddenly as he caught his breath,

"Yes, his office is protected from anything that can't fly so why would he need them?" Harry announced as they began looking through the many books and papers Dumbledore kept on his desk.

"So we're looking for anything to do with the chamber, us, Quirrel or any of the weird stuff going on around this school," Draco checked and Harry nodded in confirmation, he had no idea what he was looking for but luckily that question was going to be answered for him.

"_If you're looking for something interesting then I'd try looking in that trunk," _a voice snaked through the air and both Harry and Draco turned to see the sorting had looking down on them from high up.

"_I must say well done, you're the first students ever to break into the headmaster's office and distract every portrait at once, thank you so much for giving me a moment of peace, but if you are looking for something interesting then that trunk under his desk would a good place to start," _the hat stated silkily.

"Why would you help us?" Draco asked as Harry looked under the desk , sure enough there was a trunk there but it was locked and tightly.

"_The headmaster is many things and what you perceive him to be is wrong. They say he is the most powerful wizard and that it is true but there is more power..." _suddenly the hat trailed off. Draco frowned and as Harry searched for the key he looked up wanting to hear more.

"_I must not talk any more, listen to me both of you. It was a mistake coming here tonight and you will not find what you are looking for, this night of all nights was more dangerous than you could possibly imagine but you have a chance to flee, the key to that trunk is on his desk luckily for you he was just looking at it. Now open it, take out the contents and go, answers are in it but you will need to decode it, you will have more luck but you must go now!" _that hat urged in a wary and almost frightened voice.

"Is it something to do with the chamber?" Harry asked picking up the key, the hat looked at him for a few long seconds as if considering his answer.

"_Possibly, I do not know but what I do know is that it is important, very important to both of them, take the book and the key. Dumbledore is not supposed to be looking through it and he cannot look for the key without confessing his crime," _the hat announced solemnly as Harry opened the trunk, the moment the shining gold gleam hit his eye he gasped. It was a book with a gold square on the front with a name sticking out and it was that name which had stunned him, the name and words which read **This is the Journal Of Lily Potter**

"_Go now!" _the hat ordered and Harry could hear the scraping of stone outside which indicated the staircase was moving once more, they had spent to long here talking and now they were in trouble.

"_Leave, the window!" _the hat ordered and Harry wondered how it knew about his abilities, Dumbledore must talk to him or it overheard a lot more than Dumbledore thought.

"Thank you," Harry smiled at the hat who nodded deeply

"_Unlike you two I know what could happen but I cannot tell you, it would be too dangerous but to ensure you have a chance of fighting it I will do everything I can to stop them, and right now there is only one thing I can give," _the hat nodded and Harry looked confused.

"What's going to happen?" Draco asked first

"_I wish I could tell you, both of you but Dumbledore and the other is a master of the mind and a secret spreads like a disease, if I told you then you would tell your friends and while Dumbledore cannot get into your mind he would either break your friends or worse, there is a way to stop and the answer lies in your hands Mr Potter," _the hat replied looking at the book. Harry looked at it obviously still confused but there was no longer time to question, Dumbledore was coming; he slipped the key into his pocket and held the book tight.

"_One day you will understand everything, but that day is not today," _the hat announced darkly, their eyes met for a moment but then Harry broke away and moved to the window.

"No, no and no there is no way I am... ahhhhhhh!" Draco cried as he was dragged out of the window and into the sky, Harry would land on one of the towers and everything would be just fine. At least for them

"_It was a privilege to have known you Mr Potter," _the hat muttered to itself before appearing on Dumbledore's desk, then it that moment the door burst open and both Dumbledore and a hooded figure walked in. They seemed surprised at the hat looking at them with nothing but hate but neither had time to question

"_I know what was in that trunk and what was in that book and I am going to tell you both that you will never see the key again, without the key the trunk won't open until the enchantment fades in a thousand years or so, good luck until then..." _and then before either could react the sorting hat burst into flames and then he was no more.

"You have a lot of explaining to do Albus, that book was essential to the plan," the figure growled in a voice that seemed higher than normal and laced in a croakiness associated only with great pain.

Later

The library was their meeting point and after Cho and Hermione distracted everyone with a spell so Fred and George could get away they had all met up, Luna's role in the plan was opening the secret passage Fred had shown them so the twins could hide their brooms. Everyone suspected them but no one had any proof, though this was not the main focus right now

"So you found a diary belonging to your mother, not Lucy your rea... biological mother?" Cho asked aloud obviously surprised, Harry nodded but decided not to mention the fact he considered Lucy his real mother.

"Yes two things happened that were surprising, firstly Luna's plan actually worked and we found that... also the sorting hat talked to us a bit and he was kind of cryptic and I think he's now dead," Draco trailed off slightly awkwardly

"So what's the bad news?" Hermione asked realising there was going to be some, Harry opened Lily's journal and threw it on the table , all of it was in some kind of strange runes and they already knew that these were not the normal type of runes.

"There is literally no way of translating it, there is no code, not language gap, no nothing we have no idea what it says," Harry confessed, he looked at Luna wondering if she had any idea. The girl had been around a lot of strange things during her childhood and she might have some idea as to what the language was but even she shook her head.

"So in summary we have the one thing that could answer every question we have but we can't use it, unless we learn what language it's in which you know the odds are about eight million to one," Draco sighed sadly. Then they heard a thud and click

"Wait what's that?" Crabbe suddenly asked aloud, on instinct Harry grabbed and hid the book not wanting it to be seen by anyone he didn't trust, however he didn't need to worry about someone seeing them because the person in question wasn't transfixed in the opposite direction and a petrified Colin Creevey fell to the floor with his camera at one side engulfed in smoke.


	31. Chapter 31

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 31

"So what did you see?" Dumbledore asked gently but Harry could tell there was something behind his eyes, fear and anger among them. Obviously he had found out about the book and Harry felt a pang of guilt when he realised there could only be one explanation, the sorting hat was dead. It had died for him, obviously the hat knew why but Harry was in the dark and felt guilty that someone was willing to die for him.

"We were just in the library, when it happened. We just saw Colin fall," Harry confessed knowing it was the truth, then he felt the slither of something in his mind. Dumbledore was trying to get in, he took some pleasure in hitting him with a wave of energy powerful enough to make him recoil. He looked at Harry with evident concern but could say nothing, they were both in the library and both his friends and some teachers were trying to find out what happened. So unless the old man wanted to confess to illegally spying on someone's mind then he would have to remain quiet

"I see, you must see how this looks Harry, you were found in the same room as the victim of an attack and this is the second time," the old man murmured in a friendly but stern tone

"I know how it looks but again it's a simple coincidence, we had nothing to do with his attack all we saw was a flash of light and him falling to the ground," Harry answered truthfully. He suddenly broke into a frown

"It's interesting, all of your friends practically repeated what you have just said, it almost looks like a predetermined alibi," he whispered accusingly

"If you're accusing me then be sure to contact both Minister Fudge and Lucy who I'm sure would discuss it with you further but as you have no evidence and both of them will _investigate _I think both me and my friends are free to go," Harry retorted coolly and if it was any other student Dumbledore would have dismissed their claims, however he knew Harry could and would do these things and the last thing he needed was an investigation. So he took a deep breath and drew himself up to full height

"In that case you and your friends are free to go but I warn you, be careful dark forces are at work," he warned and Harry couldn't mistake the tone in his voice, it was a threat. Why would Dumbledore threaten him? But as the six of them were walking through the halls back to their dormitory's Cho sided up to Harry,

"Your being framed," she whispered gently and Harry's brain snapped into action, she was right. It was all adding up, he had been found with the two victims; the first time only he could hear that voice and that voice led him to Miss Norris. The library had been mostly empty and the attack happened to coincide with them being there, wait. That was it,

"Not us, we," Harry realised, the group was being set up. Someone wanted everyone to believe they were responsible for the attacks and with them at the scene of every crime it was going to work sooner or later. Ron Weasley had already started the rumours and slowly people would believe them, someone wanted this group isolated but the same question came back to Harry again and again. Why?

Two days later

"Ok there's a lot of things in this school I don't get, Dumbledore, Herbology, Luna, Runes, Luna again, History and more but the main thing right now us why we are in a bathroom," Draco pointed out, the group was stood in the bathroom on the same floor where Miss Norris had been attacked.

"Two reasons, firstly no one comes in here ever and secondly because we need somewhere to talk which isn't open to all students," Cho answered simply. Harry's predication had proven correct, most of Hufflepuff and Gryffindor were now right behind the idea Harry was the heir of Slytherin and even those who were once undecided had made an choice. However being in a group of six meant Harry was not the only suspect, a few Ravenclaws accused Draco of being the heir because he came from a pureblood family. Some believed it was Cho (mostly the people she had beaten in the Quidditch trials) and one person accused Luna because she was the newest member of the group. So as it was looking more and more like someone was trying to frame them the group had gone into some form of isolation where they told no one about their plans and did not respond to any goading comments made. The need for secrecy was now more important and Hermione had suggested they relocate their area of discussion from the library to the second floor girl's bathroom.

"So any girl can wander in and find out what we're doing?" Draco pointed out

"If they wanted to, but no one would do that," Cho answered and Draco raised his hand.

"Why?" he asked as if he was talking to a teacher

"Because of Moaning Myrtle," Hermione answered as if it was obvious, Draco nodded and all the boys looked confused and in some ways that was a good thing.

"Ok you're going to have to fill in the gaps for us here because unlike you two us lot did not take a master's degree in legends of the girl's bathroom!" Draco commented and for a moment was acting as the official spokesperson for the boys of the group.

"Whose Moaning Mrytle?" Crabbe asked looking blank.

"And who called her that?" Goyle finished.

"Me and the answer is Olive Hornby," a voice answered from behind them and Draco jumped back a few feet as a young girl flew into view. For a moment Harry was confused until he saw her transparent skin and how her eyes looked old while her body was young; she was a ghost.

"Ok, we sorted that out, umm question two do all girl's bathrooms have ghosts in them?" Draco asked again and all three girls gave him a pitying look.

"Hi Myrtle," Luna smiled at the ghost who nodded back

"Hi Luna, the ghost replied looking genuinely happy to see her, obviously Luna had used this bathroom a lot and knowing her capacity to make friends she had hit it off with the ghost. Then the ghost looked at Harry with an interested expression and Harry looked back, his eyes were drawn to her and he knew it wasn't due to her charming features. She was literally a soul on a plate and something inside him was hungry so he turned away quickly not wanting to end up eating the ghost who giggled and flew away. Whatever she thought was wrong but Harry needed to watch himself, his inner self was nowhere near as calm as patient as he was.

"Don't eat her," Cho warned somehow guessing that was what he was feeling right now and she looked concerned.

"Right well as much as Harry's feeding habits are interesting what are we doing here?" Draco interjected not caring much about the weird ghost

"Well we have a framer to worry about," Cho began but Draco cut her off

"Like I said there is no point in worrying about it now, what we need to do it wait until we see the perfect opportunity to find out what the hell's going on because charging into a situation ends up with me having a dark lord splattered into a wall," he smiled somewhat charismatically

"He's got a point, we can't exactly stop them unless we know who they are and with everyone watching us finding out would be hard," Hermione agreed

"Wow, Draco and Hermione actually agree about something," Harry commented looking amazed

"It's like seeing a solar eclipse," Crabbe smirked

"A once in a lifetime opportunity," Luna announced dreamily with a smile,

"And we were planning to become Animagi," Cho finally finished her sentence and Harry handed her the book, it gave the detailed recipe on how to make the potion and that explained the cauldron and numerous ingredients they had lying about the place.

"That would explain a lot," Draco commented suddenly and Cho gave him a glare, to Harry she had three common faces. Happy, neutral and the Draco face which involved a lot of scowling and could freeze ice potentially, if it could freeze blood then Draco would have died the first day she used it. Which was a few minutes after they met

"Well done, now are we going to get this started or not?" Cho asked,

"Sorry we have all the ingredients?" Harry asked knowing the recipe was very complex and took at least three months

"No, we need to personalise the potion with something from us, then we need to filter it and add the other ingredients while it ferments," Cho explained.

"Personalise?" Goyle wondered

"We need to add a bodily fluid," Luna supplied the answer causing most of the room to look a bit queasy

"Blood," Cho answered obviously not happy about the idea but wanted to act long before Draco could make a comment and she knew he would. Harry knew this to and if the boy's disappointed look was anything to go by then Cho had saved them from a comment which would have ended with him being thrown out of the window.

"Oh and that makes everything so much better," Hermione muttered,

"Look if you want to be an animagus then you need to drink something with you inside it, something that the potion can latch onto and adjust to before you drink it. That lets you transform at will because the potion has fermented with your blood and is attached to it," Harry told her remembering the answer from the book. Cho nodded to confirm it

"So why do we need to drink something with all our blood in it?" Draco asked and for once there was no trace of a joke in his voice

"It's called bonding, basically our animal forms will be able to tell if one of us is needs help or something like this and also where they are. It's not practised often and when it is then everyone involved is treated with the utmost trust as if they do betray the others then they are killing a part of themselves," Harry explained.

"That and its saves finding more ingredients," Cho finished rolling her eyes.

Later

Harry was sat in the Ravenclaw common room, his hand was aching with the shockingly large Transfiguration he had to do but he was slowly getting through it. At least until Hedwig made herself known by flying into the room

"Hey girl," Harry murmured to her petting her fondly but then he realised she had a scroll clasped in one foot but it looked different to the normal kind of message he received. It was written on dark paper with a shiny green ink that looked like it had been forced out of a pen. It had almost burned itself onto the page and Harry decided not to touch it. A note was wrapped around the scroll and was keeping it together, Harry gently withdrew it

_Harry- A very old and trusted friend asked me to send you this- Hagrid_

Hagrid! Harry had kept in contact with the giant after their little adventure and he found himself liking the man more and more. He was compassionate more than anything but this was strange; who did Hagird count as a friend. Other than Dumbledore Harry had never heard him mention anyone else and he doubted it was Dumbledore, the old man could just walk up to the common room if he wanted to talk so who could this be? Harry pulled the scroll and it fell open

_Harry Potter_

_We know about the journal, and if ever want to know the contents then meet us in the Forbidden forest tomorrow at midnight, bring only those you trust. _

_-A_


	32. Chapter 32

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 32

**Thank you all for reading and I have decided to update this story even more regularly, we have a lot of chapters to get through and I want to finish this story. Thank you all for following and reviewing **

**Apple**

So who was A? Harry had no idea and neither did any of his friends, he had told them of course but the question still remained as to whether they should go or not.

"It's very risky," Cho warned and as usual she was the voice of reason, a voice that everyone agreed with; they had been led into a trap once and ended up with the entire school suspecting them, they could not afford to be implicated more. Harry however did not listen to reason, the moment his mother's journal had been brought into the situation then he was blinded. Whatever was in that book could explain a lot and if it was a trap then he wouldn't bring anyone down with him, so he had gone alone to forest. He had waited until everyone was asleep, taken his mother's journal and glided out of the common room in silence, his friends would think he was being reckless and foolish and in many ways they were right but his desire to know the truth was overpowering. So here he was, in the silence of the dark night he moved to the very border of the forest, it was five to twelve and soon whoever contacted him would appear. He was ready to fly away at a moment's notice just encase someone tried to attack him, but nothing had moved yet and if they were going to attack they could have acted when he arrived a few moments ago so maybe he was safe. Then he heard a click, it was a short brief sound but his inner self turned his attention to the disturbance, then the click came again but further away, it was a breadcrumb trail and one only he could follow. So for the first time in a while he walked blind into unknown territory without the comfort of his friends,

_click, _this time the noise was further away and Harry had to move quickly through the branches and plants to keep up with the noise,

_Harry you have no idea what this is,_ Cho's voice appeared in his mind and for a moment it was as if she was next to him, Harry was more conflicted about this than he knew. In some ways it could be considered betrayal but he could not focus on that right now

"I know," Harry whispered to the open air but she wasn't here, his mind had repeated her words

from earlier as his inner self drove him forwards while reason and logic tried to hold him back.

he had no idea what was making the noise and it was obvious he was had put his faith in a noise and a note. This could be a trap designed by anyone but Harry was not listening to the voice of reason, he was listening to the click which would bring him further and further into the forest and suddenly he realised the tree's were growing at lot closer, as if something between them was pulling them towards each other and if he had looked even closer then he would have seen a twinkle of light moving behind him. He would have heard the snapping of twigs and if he had not been entirely focused on the noise then he would have sensed that he was no longer alone. Then the noise came again, this time it was leading him into a small alcove with a slither of light at the other end and Harry took a breath.

_Don't do it mate _Draco warned in his mind, Y_ou'll be trapped, _for a moment Harry considered listening but his inner self decided for him and before he knew it he was inside the darkness of the tunnel. The air was damp and a dark shadow fell over him, the moment he emerged from the other side he saw what he had missed. The trees had been drawn together by a giant web that was now surrounding him in a twisted diamond structure and on the webs were spiders, some the size of ants, others the size of cars and all had their twinkling black eyes focused on him. Harry moved to turn around but the tunnel was already blocked, he was trapped! All he could think about is how his friends were right all along and now he was trapped with thousands of monsters ready to spring on him and he had only one defence and without anyone else here it could destroy him.

"So you got me!" he shouted aloud wondering how he could have been this foolish, this reckless and he waited for one of the creatures to attack; nothing happened. Then he heard a louder click and looked up to see the largest spider possibly in the world emerged from the far end of the clearing they had built their webs. It was the size of a house and Harry was surprised it moved with such grace, surely the ground should break under its mighty leg but if there was any disturbance there was no sign of it. Then all of its many twinkling eyes were transfixed upon him, glazed with the shine of moonlight. Harry had no idea if he could fight this thing, if he could he would have to unleash his inner Dementor but there was thousands on them and if he did kill them all he could not change back, either way the secrets of his mother's journal would never leave this place.

"Welcome Harry Potter," a low gruff voice announced in a tone that was almost welcoming but it was underlined with something else, something Harry couldn't quite place. A few of the smaller spiders began to move but they were not moving towards him, they were moving away from him

"So you lured me here? What now!" Harry demanded in a loud booming voice, he saw the huge fangs of the spider dripping with venom and worked out what the "ink" was in that letter, how had he written it? had someone helped him

"I am Aragog, leader of this clan and father to many of our kin you see on these webs," the spider answered in a respectable plain voice with a slight click to his speech, Harry focused on one word and laughed.

"Kin? No offence we're not related," He retorted but the spider did not speak back in anger

"Oh we are Harry Potter, in ways that even we do not understand," it told him gently, Harry did not speak back and decided to allow Aragog to explain himself.

"A few ago we were approached by a figure in a hood. A human we thought had wandered into our midst aimlessly but we were wrong, the figure spoke to us about events that occurred exactly twenty years ago, eight years before you were born," it began darkly and Harry froze. He already had a suspicion about this figure for he remembered a hooded figure speaking to Dumbledore almost exactly a year ago, but before he could query the spider continued.

"You may wonder why I am telling you this, the answer is simple because you need to know the truth and while we know only part of it we know enough to tell you that the legacy of Lily Potter must be preserved,"

"The journal?" Harry queried and the beast nodded,

"The first few pages is written in our language, the language we use when talking to one another and not humans. Only one human has ever mastered it and we believe that journal contains information relating to you,"

"You knew my mother?" Harry asked wondering what business Lily Potter would have had with a giant spider

"Yes, you see twenty years ago Lily Potter came to us, our colony was large enough to feed on her but we didn't because she spoke to us in our own tongue, she had learnt a language we thought humans would never learn and for some reason I was intrigued. I conversed with her and you see that journal is evidence. She told us that she had been chosen, chosen to be something she could not be, apparently somehow our blood had been mixed with hers at birth. A man had been involved with the Evans family for years, slowly changing them until they had taken on the abilities of magical creatures. Magic was all it would take to activate the powers and she said someone had chosen her to be something she could not be," the spider halted and Harry quickly took the chance to speak up

"She had powers too?"Harry asked wondering why he had never heard of it

"No, she told us that the first muggleborn with from a family would not have able to utilise the power but we did not understand this at the time, she believed someone was building up to a child that would be powerful enough to form something called a soul horcrux bond with a dark lord, this would enable the one you call Voldemort to be defeated for good but she did not want this, she did not want her child to be faced with this dilemma so she was trying to find out who was responsible, that journal is written in twenty different languages and we believe before she died that journal implicates the man responsible," Aragog spoke now and suddenly Harry was attentive, so they could help translate the journal. Then he picked up on something, he vaguely knew what a Horcurx was but if he had been soul bonded to someone wouldn't that mean he would have devoured them by now. He asked the spider

"We believe that the bond was destroyed, if you were bonded to the one you call Voldemot then that bond would have died the moment you met the Dementor, when you found your connection with the second you met the bond was destroyed and your powers were free but they were unused and had no purpose, they were like magical stem cells. " Aragog began and Harry suddenly worked it out

"So they focused on the first magical creature they reached out too," he finished, so Lucy's love had saved him from something.

"Correct," the spider nodded and Harry looked up at him,

"Do you have any idea as to who would have done this?" he hoped the spider would answer but it shook it's mighty head

"No, the figure from earlier was from the school we knew the scent but not the person, they wanted to translate the journal but he ran when we attacked, his wand was powerful enough to hurt us so we fell back," Aragog answered sadly, for some reason Harry suspected it was not the same figure they were talking about, the person Dumbledore had talked to was brimming with authority and power and would not run from anything. Harry could read people well and he knew he was right, then he remembered the journal and withdrew it

"Ahh so you bought it," the spider announced dryly and Harry opened the first page, he now noticed the runes were almost drawings, each one had six tiny or long appendages and Harry recognised the connection to spiders. He showed the spider

"Yes we can translate it but I warn you, whatever the contents will tell you about things you could only guess at and they may tell you things that will could make you hurt or fear," the spider warned but Harry did not want to hear it, he wanted the truth and he would get it, Aragog assumed as such and looked over the journal. His voice rang through the night as all tried to listen to his words.

_The spiders have helped as much as they can and they have given me a pathway directly to what I seek, however again I know the one person who can help me will resist until I am recognised as worthy. I resent needing their help and if they ever find out I know about what they have been doing to my family then I will be killed, it is a dangerous game and I know there is a power behind the person responsible. A power that needs to be tamed or my goal for a safe world for my son will never be achieved. _


	33. Chapter 33

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 33

It was nearly dawn by the time Harry left the forest, he was tired but his mind was alive with knowledge, Aragog had told him a lot of things and he also revealed the identity of the monster in the chamber of secrets. A basilisk, a giant snake thousands of years old and all spiders feared it, to Harry it added up. He could hear it because he could speak to snakes in the same way he could speak to spiders, it also meant maybe part of the journal was in Parsletongue but the bad thing was only the snake could read it. So he had to negotiate with a giant snake that was going to end well as Draco would say

"Your late!" the boy's voice sliced through the air like a knife and Harry jumped, it was dark and he was close to the castle but Draco's voice was unmistakable and suddenly Crabbe, Goyle and Draco appeared in the clearing. They did not look pleased

"We told you not to go," Draco sighed sadly but Harry got the idea that he was not sad due him going, something else had happened. Crabbe and Goyle were looking at the ground too

"It's bad news!" Draco confirmed without his usual traces of sarcasm and irony, no his voice was quiet and almost hoarse

"What's going on," Harry asked obviously worried, whatever was going on was very bad indeed.

"They got the girls," Draco supplied and Harry's eyes widened in fear.

Later

Hermione, Luna and Cho were all laid out on the beds, all were petrified and were found on the third floor. It was as if they had gone for a midnight walk and had found something, all girls seemed blank as if they knew what had attacked them and were determined not to show fear or were trying to find a way out. Harry would have said something if not for the teachers surrounding the bed

"Where were you?" Dumbledore asked, obviously when they had been found Dumbledore swarmed to find his "prime" suspect and when they had realised Harry was missing it just gave the man more of an excuse.  
"I went for a walk," Harry responded knowing he had no excuse, this was bad

"Why?" McGonagall asked, Harry did not need to look into her mind to know she was conflicted, on one hand she had stopped trusting Dumbledore's judgement when she met Lucy but there was a lot of evidence pointing Harry's way.

"I was feeling stressed," Harry responded, it was the first thing he could think of.

"I see, Harry you must admit that this does not look good for you," Dumbledore murmured but Harry saw a sadistic gleam in his eye. He was enjoying beating Harry and at the moment he was

"And yet I didn't do it," Harry told the man with sheer ice in his voice, the room was suddenly very cold and the lights flickered.

"Harry is there anything you wish to tell us?" Snape asked gently, he did not believe it was Harry, ever since last year when they had argued he viewed the boy with something akin to trust. He doubted this was Harry but he had no evidence while Dumbledore had something

"No," was all Harry said and the old man nodded.

"I see, you four are excused from morning classes and you may visit Miss Lovegood, Chang and Granger but I will be looking over this matter very carefully!" Dumbledore informed them wanting to seem grandfatherly but also so Harry would detect the threat in his voice. Then the teachers left the room and Harry glared at Dumbledore's back.

"They found out," Harry realised when he saw the mirror, judging from the glittery metal it was Cho's but it was cracked and separated into three pieces, they had been using the piece because when they found out about the Basilisk they became targets. Someone had been following them and had set the monster on them, they had tried to get back to the dormitory's and had been intercepted. Harry suspected they had gone to the library but it didn't really matter.

"Can you do anything?" Draco asked hopefully but Harry shook his head, his powers worked on the mind not the body.

"So what do we know? We know what the monster is, we know someone is framing us well now it's only you but we also know that your mother wrote a journal in different languages, you can speak to snakes so maybe part of the journal is in snake language. Now I don't know about you but I don't think most garden snakes can read so if she wanted to learn to write in Parsletongue then I think a two thousand year old snake would be best," Draco announced suddenly putting the pieces together, Harry's eyes lit up.

"So maybe she knew where the chamber is, but unless we can read the journal we have no clue," Harry sighed realising the only lead they had was wrapped in a language they couldn't read.

One week later

For Harry the Quidditch game was going to be his escape, he had been questioned all week by various people and had ignored them all, He, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle had been pouring through books looking for anything connected to the chamber. They had found nothing and so the game today was going to be his escape

"Ok people we're going to do this and we're going to do this well!" Michael announced strictly, the Quidditch captain had not even mentioned the chamber to him and had left one of his star players alone. He mourned the loss of Cho and grumbled about their temporary replacement was awful but nothing else could be done. The game against Gryffindor had to go well and Harry had some person incentive, they had a new seeker and it happened to be Ron Weasley. So when the infuriating boy appeared on the pitch Harry gritted his teeth and ascended into the air, soon he lost himself in ducking and dogging through the chasers, grabbing the Quaffle whenever he could and scoring with it. Soon Ravenclaw were up ninety points, Ron turned out to be a thoroughly incompetent seeker and Harry wondered if he had been given the position in exchange for something else.

"Lost without your seeker?" Ron taunted suddenly zooming above him, Harry swerved away but the boy persisted. Instead of doing what he actually was supposed to he followed Harry and continued with occasional insults but then he said something interesting

"Well I suppose Snakes always lose in the end, you should have been a Gryffindor but as you're a," he continued but the word snake suddenly sparked something in Harry's mind. Dumbledore had been involved with Ron from the start, trying to get him to be friends with him. Unlike Dumbledore his mind was weak and if Harry wanted to find out what he boy then all he needed to do was. Harry scanned his memories, his thoughts and then he struck gold and in one moment he saw a book that Ron had seen Arthur Weasley give to Ginny. The sister Harry had seen at the station and the same girl who had been trying to work up the nerve to talk to him, but even in memory his inner Dementor could sense something was in that diary. It was alive or part of a soul was contained within and Harry suddenly realised that it was not this foolish boy he needed to find out about, it was the girl. Then before he could think further he saw a bludger soaring towards him at twice the normal speed, he dived out of the way but it had not been aimed at him, no someone had targeted Ron and the round ball narrowly missed his heads before spinning round to attack again.

"Duck!" Harry told the boy sternly not wanting to allow his death, Ron however froze in fear and the crowd watched with bated breath as the ball edged closer to him, Harry had no choice and extended his arm.

"Ahhh!"Ron cried out as a force he had experienced once before knocked him off the broom, the bludger which would have killed him missed and Harry sent that away with a second wave of power. Then with no idea as to why he was helping Ron he grabbed the Weasley by the collar and dropped him on the ground, he was unhurt except for his pride and dignity. Teachers rushed over to him but most just looked at Harry; to some he was now a hero but to others he had shown another power. A power overlooked by his ability to fly but wandless magic was a feat and some were now sure he was the heir, Dumbledore looked surprised and conflicted but there was one face who did not show any of these emotions. The person behind the stands who had realised what Harry was doing to Ron's mind, a person who knew what the moronic boy may have overheard but what angered the person most was that Harry Potter saved Ron Weasley.

Later

"So we have a suspect," Draco stated as Harry explained to the three what he had found out, without the girls they had lost their usual chemistry. Draco did not make as many comments because there was no one to respond to them in the same way, Crabbe and Goyle did not speak as much and Harry too felt the incompleteness of them all.

"Yes we do," Harry confirmed, they were walking towards the Gryfindor common room knowing she would be in or around the area and if need be they would break in, Harry had no time to think but all he knew was a soul contained in a book was a horcrux. During the wizarding war Azkaban had been used to store vast amounts of evidence due to the overwhelming amount of it, once he had found some of the evidence and one item was a large black book. Long story short it had ended with Harry being grounded for a few weeks and Lucy burning the book but last night when Aragog mentioned a horcrux bond it had got him thinking. A man like Voldemort wanted immortality and perhaps that was how he had decided to do it, it was a theory but that knowledge was now driving him towards that book and hopefully that would lead him to the chamber.

"So how are we intending to get in?" Draco wondered as they approached the portrait who looked at all of them with disproval, Harry looked to the left with a slightly apologetic look. Then he turned to see a man with shiny blond hair marching down the corridor,

"You didn't!" Draco hissed but Harry waved to Lockhart who beamed, he obviously thought this was some kind of way of mentoring Harry

"Ahh so Harry you ready to do this?" he asked in a smug self satisfied way, Harry had told him that a student was keeping a very dark object in their possession and he thought it was the heir, Lockhart had seen a way to help Harry and either get credit for finding a "dark" student or claim he was trying to mentor Harry and the boy had got the wrong student, that was if he was wrong. Harry nodded, the man said a few words to the portrait who moved aside,

"Ok then maybe we should..." Lockhart began but he never managed to finish. He was intending to go first and deal with the student but Harry however spoiled his plans ans did not wait for the man he had tricked, instead he shot through the portrait hole and into the lion's den so to speak. If he had cared even for a moment he would have admired the common room but instead he ignored both the room and the shocked students. His feet did not touch the floor and the stairs which would have collapsed for any boy had no effect on him and he instead walked into the girl's dormitory, only one person was in there and they were looking at him with wide terrified eyes. It was not Ginny but he could see the book on her bed, the book which had all the answers and he reached for it, however the moment his fingers touched the soft leather cover he felt as if a rope had been tied to his hands. His inner self was hungry and was propelling him forward while whatever was in the diary was pulling him in, the soul inside had no idea what it was getting into but for the first time he welcomed it. He did something he never thought he would do; he dived straight into the trap headfirst knowing with certainty it was a trap.


	34. Chapter 34

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 34

**As a quick note this is the last time I will be asking for pairings and animagus forms so if you have any ideas you might want to get them in quickly as in a few chapters its starting up. Thank you all for reading and I really appreciate your reviews, follows and help**

**Apple**

"So the great Harry Potter joins me tonight does he not? I had wanted to meet you for some time," A low, masculine voice filled the air of where he was. Here was a dark seemingly endless corridor with doors leading off into every direction, this was the physical representation of what Harry saw when he entered people's minds. This however was no mind, this was a soul and specifically a horcrux something dark and vile which didn't just turn his stomach, it riled it up and Harry knew that by being here he was risking a lot. The landscape was made up of a soul and he could devour it with a mere thought but he would risk emerging from the diary a monster and trapping himself down here

"Who are you?" Harry asked and his voice was echoed through the halls a thousand times before the noise ceased, it was a mind game whatever soul fragment in this place was playing and Harry was determined to win. So he took a step forward, and the force of a thousand winds threw him back, the twisting corridor grew longer and the doors became uncountable as he flew. He wondered if he would float here forever but even this mere thought was enough to pull him back to his feet, so thoughts controlled this place

"I have been hoping to meet you for some time; the girl was most useful in finding out about you and it seems you have a number of qualities a man of my position would find interesting," the silky smooth voice rang out again and Harry wondered what Ginny Weasley knew. She was obviously being tricked by this thing but she didn't know everything about him, meaning he had a slight advantage over his enemy, but it was not a major one.

"Who are you?" Harry demanded aloud knowing the voice could hear, the voice existed through this entire realm after all.

"You already know, a man who you have fought twice and yet each time you have come out on top, you know who I am and you don't even need to ask," the voice sounded almost angry.

"Voldemort," Harry confirmed to himself, it made sense, the heir of Slytherin. Voldemort was the person most into the pureblood crap in this world and he was obviously petrified of death. But to reduce yourself to horcruxes was something else entirely

"Is that arrogance I detected there?" Harry asked suddenly,

"I am not arrogant, I am the greatest wizard of all time and I will not stoop to your petty levels, you are a child and I am the heir of Salazar Slytherin," the voice rebuffed and Harry smiled to himself now he knew how to get this guy really wound up.

"Oh really? Because to be it seemed like Ginny Weasley was doing all the work, can anyone get into your chamber?" he asked suddenly. Then the endless corridor began to shake through Voldemort's rage

"She was in my possession, she was nothing but a host!" the voice cried with outrage echoing through the air, Harry say a golden opportunity.

"So you went willingly into the body of a Weasley, does that mean you have some blood traitor in you?" Harry demanded and the landscape really did explode them, the halls broke up and the door exploded into splinters. Harry was suddenly being hit from all directions and then he was falling, downwards and the endless corridor was gone, it had never even existed but now there was only light.

"You thought you could beat me with words? You abilities are obviously meaningless and you the weak minded child you will always be," the voice spat nastily as Harry fell, then he was hit by a mental jolt of pain and suddenly Harry felt himself falling in a much different sense.

"There is nothing for you now, you will exist in here with me for an eternity," the voice taunted gently but then a ripple of surprise went through the air. Something strange was happening to Harry, his eyes were now gently glowing with black and then he was gone. His body was gone

"What!" the voice began obviously confused but then a much darker voice filled the air and it made the voice of Tom Riddle seem friendly.

"_You underestimated me! A mistake I think you will regret for the rest of your miserable existence!" _

Meanwhile

Draco, Crabbe and Goyle piled into the room once Lockhart worked out how to disarm the security around the girl's dormitory, they had found Harry gone and one girl gaping at a book lying on the bed.

"What happened?" Draco asked and for once there was no anti-Slytherin remarks from the girl but instead she turned to him

"He fell into that book!" she gave a senseless answer but then Draco felt a familiar cold coarse through him, it had been over a year but he recognised it.

"Boys out!" he ordered and Lockhart moved to question the but then he paled, the diary lying on the bed exploded in shining white light and a boy was thrown out of it, he looked sixteen and would have been handsome if not for the look of fear carved into his face.

"_NO!" _he cried and then a dark cloud erupted from the diary and swarmed him, he was gone before he could even blink

"Run!" Draco advised and for the first time Lockhart shut and followed his student from the room as a swarm of darkness gathered. They were at the bottom of the stairs when it broke through, it passed through the gaps in the door like smoke and as Draco led the group into the common room it followed. Draco knew that was Harry but he also knew that his friend had no control over this and was not thinking of how to stop it but more thinking of how to get the hell away from it

"Ok everyone out! You're all in danger!" he cried to the Gyfindors who looked at him blankly,

"Oh please, the only danger here is you slimy snakes!" Ron Weasley snorted a few seconds before the black swarm burst through the doors and cries filled the air.

"RUN!" Draco ordered, the swarm was not targeting anyone but when it spread out and touched the students they fell to the floor, they were acting as lifelines to the monster and while inside Harry was fighting for control he was not in a good position. Then a monster's eye looked over the fleeing students and surged forward.

Hospital Wing

Madam Pomfrey could not explain it but Cho Chang had started twitching, it was as if her mind was demanding she do something but her body was refusing. A few seconds after she stared miss Lovegood followed and eventually Miss Granger did the same, she could feel a certain warmth in the air as they moved and it was unlike the strange coursing ice that was in the air moments before. No it was a happier feeling, the opposite of a Dementor in a way

"Ha..rry...st.," Cho murmured to herself, she had strength but from where? Madam Pomfrey could not say and she did not have time to query further for suddenly she heard screams from outside. Cho suddenly started convulsing violently and while she had a duty of care Pomfrey was more focused on the screaming and promptly left the room.

"Stop, Harry," Cho begged suddenly and her voice was joined by two others as warmth combated the cold.

Second floor

How had he become this? This was a new form to him and never had his inner Dementor self changed or made decisions against his will. This was new and it took the form of this giant swarm of black which was slicing through the air knocking out everyone it touched. A hundred students were on the floor, they were not dead or soulless and Harry found himself wondering not for the first time if this other self was conscious. It would explain a lot and he had already devoured Tom Riddle's soul and taken on all that he knew but his desire around ghost and souls could be explained by him literally having two sides. One built on reason which was him and the only on instinct and it was fighting against his control every step of the way. Each students was a lifeline and each lifeline was a barrier to him regaining control and he felt helpless for the first time, maybe he was a monster, he would have dwelled on this for a long time if not for the sudden surge of power ripping through his body. His true form rebelled but Harry cut the students free and each awoke with nothing more than a headache the feeling they had been plunged into icy water, it was a miscalculation as the fight for dominance caused his true form to lose all grace, agility and flight. Harry had no idea why but knew he crashed into his friends and Lockhart and they somehow became attached to this body which went crashing into a corridor and towards the place this entire adventure started. His last memory before passing out was smashing through some sinks and seeing a long tunnel below, Lockhart was screaming as he fell down the hole and Draco was hanging on to the edge with Crabbe and Goyle already falling down into what he now knew was the Chamber of Secrets.

Later

Harry had no idea when he awoke, but Draco was gone and the bathroom was exactly the same other than his friends being gone and it was unlikely they would search for him. He felt like crying, he had gone on a rampage through the school and while no one was hurt he almost killed hundreds of people.

_You can't give up! _A voice appeared in his mind and at first he thought it was Lucy who must have felt him change

_You can't Harry! _It was not her voice, but he knew the voice

_Cho? _Harry questioned wondering if this was an illusion of the mind, Luna answered his question

_Ands us but we are currently... nowhere to be honest and... _somehow she even rambled while in a coma.

_Harry we know, it wasn't your fault, no one can blame you and no one saw you, no one saw you change and people will think that it is the monster of the chamber but we both know that the real monster is down there with Draco, Crabbe and Goyle. Only you can do this Harry, _Hermione told him gently and he felt somewhat reassured.

_You can do it, I know how you must feel but you have to! I believe in you, Luna and Hermione believe in you and currently Draco, Crabbe and Goyle believe in you! Go on! _Cho told him and Harry took a breath, they were right this was no time for regret he had to save them and maybe there was something else. The Basilisk knew Parsletongue and maybe if it was down there then maybe it could be reasoned with, it was a chance and the odds were stacked firmly against them but sometimes in life you don't have much of a choice.

_I believe in you_ another voice gently whispered and he knew who it was, Lucy was with him every step of the way and at the moment there was nothing else she could do but support him and then he looked down at the hole. The tunnel to the Chamber of Secrets and then without pausing to think twice he leapt into the great unknown once more.


	35. Chapter 35

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 35

The tunnel stretched down for miles and by the time Harry's eyes adjusted to the darkness he had stopped moving and his feet were now resting on what felt like a thousand skeletons compressed into a landing. He looked down and found quickly he was not far from the truth, centuries of decay had created a corpse of a welcome mat for the monster.

"Draco, Crabbe, Goyle!" Harry whispered aloud and the echo carried all around the chamber, he waited a few moments but there was no answer, until he turned and was faced by a pale face with the colour seemingly bleached out of it. He had seen something terrifying all right, something that had destroyed his usual charisma and ego at least for now.

"Harry!" Lockhart realised suddenly looking at the boy who jumped back in fright, he had been cowering in a corner all this time waiting for someone to come down and rescue him

"Professor," Harry greeted slightly coolly, there was no point in acting as if he liked him down here, the truth was he did not like the man but at the moment he was his only lead.

"You came for me! You can fly us out of here!" he announced triumphantly as if that had been his idea all along,

"What happened to Draco and..." Harry questioned and the blond man looked nervous, his eyes were once more alive with fear

"When I woke up, someone was dragging them out of the room, someone hooded and they radiated black, I hid away so I could escape and bring this person to justice," he tried to replace his fear with charisma and in the darkness of the chamber Harry lost his patience. The air was colder and Lockhart started to shake as Harry's person chill dug into his bones,

"Enough!" he hissed "I know you're a fraud, I know you were scared and I also understand but this crap about you trying to help people has to stop, now I'm going after my friends and you can either stay here and cower away until I come back or you can come with me and actually live up to your books, you can show the world that you are brave man and the next time you write it will be true!" Harry faced the man off for a few seconds and as he expected the man shrank away, unmoving

"I can't ok, you're right I'm not a hero I'm a man who can write. I want to go home, I want to write and be anywhere else than this chamber but here I am and you're the only person who can help me!" Lockhart whimpered in something reminiscent of a sob,

"I'm not like Dumbledore, I'm not like any of the hero's and I'm not like you! I'm scared of what's out there and I'm scared what's going to happen to me if I go after that hooded nightmare, I just can't," he broke off and Harry felt a stab of pity for the man, if he wasn't a liar and a fraud he would have helped him but Harry had bigger problems.

"Everyone's scared of something, you think I want to go into this chamber; do you think I enjoy it? I'm going to save my friend and because I couldn't live with myself if I let him die, now I'm going after them, feel free to join me," Harry sighed turning away, knowing the man would be of no help today. The man did nothing and Harry turned away for the last time, he had wondered for a second if he had gotten through to Lockhart but there were limits to even his powers, it would have been nice to have company in this place.

"Please don't leave," Lockhart cried, Harry ignored him

"If you were half the man you say you are then you would follow me," he sighed,

"If you go after them then you'll die too," Lockhart warned trying one last time but Harry found himself not listening, Lockhart had shown who he really was and Harry wanted no part of it. So he progressed through the chamber and only when he came to one chamber with a giant snakeskin laying on the floor did he stop, so the monster was a Basilisk and that meant he was in trouble, He had eyes and if he looked directly at the monster would he did? He had no idea and it was nothing something he wished to try, not now or ever but then he saw Draco's face as he was chased by a black swarm through the castle he knew he had to go onward. Draco, Crabbe and Goyle had stood by him all year and he would not let them rot down here,

_Don't worry we'd get eaten by the Basilisk long before we rotted, _he could hear Draco's witty remark in his mind eye and despite everything he smiled. Then he saw the opening to the chamber,

"Parsletongue," he deduced by looking at the snakes on the wall and then he reached inside himself, Aragog had said the power was within him and he hoped the old spider was right; he needed the old spider to be right. The soul of Tom Riddle was in him and he knew everything that it knew so maybe he had picked up something else along the way, something that unlocked his inner abilities perhaps.

"_Open!" _he ordered and he heard a slight hiss in his voice, something that echoed in the air and sure enough the snake guarding the door moved, it slid around the small covering and unlocked it, then it swung open and Harry walked inside. Snake statues overlooked a pathway leading to a giant bust of Slytherin himself, it's giant vacant eyes looked strange but Harry's eye was drawn to the three altars before the bust. Three bodies being offered to the statue but the three bodies took the form of Draco, Crabbe and Goyle, he knew it was a trap but despite himself he moved forward, and then he was knocked back by a great force unlike anything else he had ever felt, so this was it was like to be on the receiving end of one of these things.

"Sloppy," a voice crooned from afar, it was slightly high pitched and yet underlined with something else, something that reminded Harry of pain; a croakiness.

"Who are you?" he demanded to the opening air, then he was flung into one of the snake statues

_What being enters my chamber? _A voice asked in his mind as he tasted something akin to blood in his mouth, he had no time to ask as suddenly he was flying through the air again but this time he regained himself and dodged another wave of energy. This person was powerful, more powerful than him and he quickly spun round and fired waves of power in all directions, he realised too late that this was his most potent weapon and it was nothing compared to what this person had.

"So this dragon has fangs," the figure mocked and it was almost pride Harry detected from his invisible assailant, he turned in time to see a black light throw him into a wall and hold him there, it clutched his throat and tightened around his chest as he tried everything he could in order to escape. Nothing was working and it then he realised that he could not save himself this time.

_You are not of this race are you? No you are not a serpent but you are not human either, _the other mental voice elaborated as the dark light tried to choke him, he could see a flicker of light and he threw a wave of energy at it, the light stopped and Harry smiled when he realised he hit whoever this was.

_Yes something else? Something that escapes even my perception but I see you are in trouble young one, but what from?_

"You may consider yourself powerful but you are a child compared to me," suddenly Harry was hit by a physical fist, then another; his attacker was invisible well two could play at that game.

"Nice try," the voice was slightly more feminine now but it was still underlined with pain, as if whoever it was had experienced or was still experiencing great pain. Harry was hit by another wave of energy and another statue exploded as his body made contact with it, his head was hit by waves of pain and his body fell to the ground,

"Who are you?" he demanded darkly refusing to be afraid of this figure, this clearly more powerful figure who seemed to delight in torturing him. There was no response only laughter

_Yes the dark one foreseen in the end of times exists here, that can only mean. _Harry suddenly was hit by a jet of black lighting which made him feel like white hot knives were ripping him apart

"Yes a little something I cooked up," the figure hissed gently as it hit Harry with another round of lightning, he cried out in pain and for a second year he was doing well not to cry. Then he was hit by another round and suddenly his body was arching out of control and there was nothing he could do, nothing what so ever,

_I must help you, _the voice inside his head decided but it was not it which acted in that moment, the figure moved to hit Harry again with an even more powerful torrent of lighting when it was hit by the weight of a middle aged man who had made the first good choice in his life.

"Get off him!" Lockhart demanded, he had entered the chamber, he had decided Harry was right and while he was also concerned as to what the press would say he decided that fear would not rule his life any longer. Then he was knocked back by the same pain the monster had hit Harry with, he would never know why he changed his mind and would have no time to elaborate or discuss why. Lockhart knew in that moment he was going to die but in some bizarre way he had done some good before he died, hopefully that would be enough. That would be enough to leave his mark and it would be a real mark this time, not fake real.

"So the coward acts, what a profound effect you have Harry Potter, first a death eater repents and now this, a coward acts in defiance of power, clearly the last mistake he will ever make," the figure cackled as the bust of Slytherin exploded in a giant snake, the great Basilisk had acted and Harry scrambled out of range as it charged forward. Stone chunks flew everywhere and the stone eyes of Salazar Slytherin fell to the floor,

"_No," _the Figure hissed in Parsletongue but the monster did not stop, it had broken free of control and as the figure tired to jump Lockhart pulled at her robe and caught the glimpse of scarred burnt flesh before he was hit by a giant snake and impaled on a giant fang. The figure was sent to the floor, bones broken, blood running down her body like a river and she looked up and met Harry's gaze. There he saw deep burning green eyes like something out of a horror film, they were the eyes of a monster and whatever enchantment on the veil to stop people seeing them had failed. They were glowing green and he saw the briefest illumination of charred flesh and then nothing as the figure vanished and he lapsed into darkness.

_I am here to help you son of darkness but know this is not the last pain you will feel, you will go through much worse towards the end. Towards that final end._

**Feedback would be helpful as I had to rewrite some of the characters here and show Harry in a different light so it would be appreciated also both the final pairings and animal forms have been decided on. I'm just not going to tell you, the mysterious figure will be revealed... in the third year.**

**Thanks for reading **

**Apple**


	36. Chapter 36

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 36

When Harry awoke he was back in the chamber, the battle that had taken place only hours before seemed almost like a distant memory. The pain had gone as soon as it had appeared and the figure attacking him was gone, however something stirred and the moment he picked himself up off the cold chamber floor it spoke.

"_Hello Harry Potter,"_ it greeted in a soft feminine voice, Harry looked around and saw the basilisk by the now destroyed bust of Slytherin, it did not want to face him as one look into its eyes would most likely kill Harry Potter. The great snake did not want that

"You saved me," Harry stated remembering the snake exploding from its sanctuary, killing Lockhart who had proved somewhat brave during his final moments. Harry doubted the man had intended to help him, he probably came hoping Harry would save him but he ended up doing something much different and even though Harry knew he was a fraud he felt some kind of respect for the man.

"_I did, I sensed you pain and that was something else behind your human aroma, something that I have never seen before. So Harry Potter what are you?" _The Basilisk asked gently and Harry feeling gratitude to the thing that saved his life answered

"I'm part Dementor," that however was the only explanation he could give because he did not know what else he was, the Basilisk decided that this was good enough.

"_I see, you showed great strength against the monster, great strength indeed. You managed to fight even though it was causing you pain, you managed to overcome fear and for that I commend you," _it announced softly as it slid slightly closer to Harry but its head was set firmly away from Harry.  
"What was that thing?" Harry demanded suddenly remembering the figure's charred flesh and burning green eyes that did not seem fully human,

"_The monster, something that has been corrupted fully and entirely by desire and hate, once it was a good person hoping to change the world and then four words changed their life forever, a battle seen to be good and evil occurred and the monster was disfigured, became something it never thought possible and only one person still knew they existed, you would do well to fear the monster for it has powers that even I can only guess at," _The Basilisk explained slowly and Harry could sense the snake's voice was layered with both contempt and anger.

"It was controlling you through Ginny Weasley,"Harry realised, he had absorbed a fragment of the soul of Tom Riddle and the moment that happened he gained the fragment's power. He became the heir of Slytherin, that was ironic in a lot of ways.

_"Yes but when you came to save your friends the monster lost all power over me, I realised soon after you arrived and I think I enacted revenge in a very direct way," _The Basilisk almost chuckled in a sadistic way as it revelled in victory over this "monster"

"What happened to my friends?" Harry asked suddenly remembering Draco, Crabbe and Goyle laid out as offerings, he did not see them now.

"_They are safe, they were placed in a deep sleep by the_ _monster and if not for your arrival they would have been devoured, they are currently outside the inner sanctum and will awaken very shortly but first we have time to talk," _The great snake soothed gently knowing Harry was getting distressed over the disappearance of his friends,

"Talk about what?" Harry asked suddenly and if the Basilisk opened its mouth slowly in what resembled a smile, then almost in a comforting way it spoke again

"_You carried round your mother's journal, it is in your pocket now unless I am mistaken," _it hissed and Harry looked shocked, it was true he had indeed carried it round with him since he found it, he was paranoid that someone would find or steal it so had kept it in his inside pocket. He reached for it as to confirm to the basilisk it was true,

"I have, I don't suppose you can translate..." he began awkwardly not knowing if the only thing could help him would indeed do so

"_I can, and I will_. _I never met your mother, I was hibernating and yet I sensed her, she was wise and powerful and the monster would have found an enemy in her if they had ever met, They did not and she died before she had the chance," _The Basilisk sounded almost remorseful but Harry was only half listening, he instead opened the book to the page he suspected was in Parseltongue and showed it to the great Snake.

"_It is an earlier entry, most likely when she was still as school but anyway it reads like this..._

_Something happened, it's been around two weeks since I met Aragog and he has helped in so many ways. However I'm suddenly feeling more alert and aware, I seem to know when people are coming my way and what their intending to do. I managed to avoid Potter's gang at least ten times this week alone and I didn't even see them until I was well out the way, it is almost like I've gained another sense. Maybe Aragog knows more but I'll have to wait a while before seeing him again, his children still want to eat me. I suppose I'll have to wait and see until I can find a good moment, I think I should tell Sev about this, I know people think he's going dark but I hope he can help. I've always trusted him and maybe he knows more about this than me. _

It was a short entry but it revealed a lot, Snape may have information about all this and also it was proof his mother was like him. Like he took on Dementor characteristics when he met Lucy she took on the senses of a spider when she met Aragog. However once the Great Snake had finished reading it looked at Harry for a few long seconds

"_Interesting, very interesting. It is time for me to go back to sleep, I have caused enough harm these past few months and I will release all those who looked into me once I am asleep. I am sorry Harry for hurting your friends," _it began .

"It wasn't your fault..." Harry began but the snake growled and cut him off

"_In some ways it was, I should have resisted more but regardless it is time for me to sleep, a long sleep I think it will be. It was a pleasure meeting you Harry Potter and I hope our paths cross again," _it told him and before Harry could protest it slithered away and the giant bust of Slytherin pulled itself back together in an instant, it was like it had never been damaged at all.

One Week Later

"So you destroyed most of the castle, attacked a few hundred students, went into the chamber, fought a monster that isn't the monster of the chamber and then woke up before speaking to a giant snake. You had one hell of a day," Cho commented as Harry finished explaining the events the girls missed. They had just been released from the hospital wing and all were once again in the second floor bathroom and surprisingly their potion had remained intact when Harry had smashed into the bathroom and torn the chamber entrance open.

"You were asleep through it all," Draco commented dryly, the moment the basilisk went back to sleep the victims had woken up, the explanation as Harry understood it was when a person saw the reflection of the basilisk's eyes they were connected to it. So when it let go they had woken up and but when someone looked into its eyes directly they were killed so didn't wake up; this was mostly guess work but Harry was in no hurry to speak to it again. He had only just managed to escape being a suspect.

The teachers thought the giant swarm thing was the monster in the chamber and had been preparing to go after it when Harry flew up with his friends and a very dead Lockhart. He told them he had killed it and for some reason they accepted this without question and hadn't bothered to check, instead they rebuilt the entrance and gave him an award for services to the school.

"So were you," Luna pointed out and Draco suddenly went a bit quiet. However they were not here to argue, they were here to finally take the animagi potion.

"We are sure that's not poison right?" Draco asked suddenly

"Our one no, your potion yes," Cho remarked annoyed that he was back to making comments while he was happy she was there to respond to his usual comments. So the status quo had largely returned to normal

"Don't worry I put enough Cyanide in to kill eight men," Hermione smiled handing one of the six vials she had to each member of the group. They had all put a drop of blood in, it was personal to them and was one of the less disgusting items they could have put in

"Everyone got checked for AIDS right?" Draco wondered and was met by six pairs of angry eyes

"Something you want to tell us Draco?" Luna wondered knowing how that particularly disease could be passed around, everyone but Draco cracked up at this.

"Ok one three," Hermione began grabbing her vial, then she counted slowly.

"One,"

"Two,"

"While your knowledge on numbers is impressive could we hurry up?" Draco commented before he was punched by Cho.

"Three," the moment she said the word the group downed their vials, and waited. Then Harry's vision flickered and suddenly he felt smaller, no he was smaller and for some reason his eyes seemed wider.

_Anyone else feel like their smaller_ Draco's voice asked, well at least Harry knew the mental connections Cho theorised were true.

_Great give her the Nobel prize but could someone tell me why I'm on all fours _Draco responded to Harry's thoughts quickly

_Perhaps because you're a fox? _ Cho suggested connecting herself to what could only be described as mental WIFI

_Harry with all your mental power you compare a magical connection to WIFI, something you get free in Muggle coffee shops, could you perhaps find a better analogy._

It seemed Draco reading your thoughts was a downside to being an animagus

_Anyone big enough to eat Draco? _Harry wondered mentally as he looked around, then he saw Crabbe and Goyle, Crabbe had become a black bear and Goyle was a brown one,

_We'll give it a shot,_ Crabbe confirmed nodding at Goyle with his snout

_Remember use your front canine teeth to really get the flesh off,_ Luna interrupted, she had become a snow wolf. Cho flapped into view as a Swan and did give Luna a worried look, she was a bird and Luna was a bigger and hopefully not hungry predator. Harry examined himself, he was a raven it seemed and he was relived the bird commanded some respect, though he was smaller than the two bears which he hoped would not get hungry.

_I see how much trust you have in us! _ Goyle announced with mock hurt

_You just threatened to eat me! _Draco pointed out but received no answer. Instead a hare hopped around the room

_Hermione? _Cho inquired

_No some hare just wandered in to a bathroom which happened to be involved in animal transformations _ Draco commented before Hermione even had a chance to answer.

_Roast Fox for sale,_ Cho responded

_It is me by the way _Hermione confirmed, she was a hare, quick agile and someone who could outpace and outsmart Draco.

_Hey! _Draco protested,

_If your exposed to our thoughts trust me our thoughts on you are never anything other than let's murder him! _Cho warned him. Draco's thoughts pretty much told the group he denied this.

_True _Harry agreed

_Yep_ Luna joined in

_Definitely _Hermione confessed

_Agreed _Goyle announced.

_Of course! _Crabbe finished.


	37. Chapter 37

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 37

**Thanks for reading and reviewing. By the way No one has guessed who the figure is either (Not Grindelwald or Lily) **

Slowly but surely the year was coming to an end, everyone believed the monster in the chamber was dead and Harry was in the clear. Quidditch had returned to normal and other than the various trips to the second floor bathroom to test their animagus forms the group had largely continued as normal. However that all changed one afternoon about a week before the end of term feast, Draco had forgotten his potion book and rushed back to get it, Snape had already left and to ensure he wasn't caught Draco decided to work in the dark. Moving his way to his desk had proved easy enough but it took him less than two minutes before tripping over a cauldron and falling to the floor, something that may have saved his life because it got him out of sight for one crucial second.

"I warned you," a voice hissed in a croaky whine as the door burst open, Draco scrambled to see who it was and saw a hooded figure forcing someone to the table.

"I tried," someone else was trying to explain as Draco quietly slipped into a cupboard hoping he would not be found,

"No you failed, you little girl didn't even get into the damn chamber in time, I was in there and now the boy knows me, do you have any idea what you have done!" the figure spat tightening its grip on what Draco now saw was Molly Weasley's throat; what the hell was she doing here? it wasn't the end of term nor was her children in any trouble. No one actually knew Ginny Weasley was involved with the chamber as far as Draco knew so what was going on?

"Please," Molly spluttered obviously terrified of this person, Draco suspected that this was the same hooded monster Harry mentioned in the chamber and knew he did not want to go anywhere near it, if it could beat Harry half to death then what could it do to him.

"I lost my sense of mercy years ago," the figure croaked nastily, Molly was suddenly alive with fear and writing about in a vain effort to escape her attacker.

"Albus won't help you, the fool made me what I am an and I am infinitely more powerful than he will ever be, now give me one reason why I shouldn't decorate the floor with your blood?" was the figure's response and Molly whimpered in fear as a clawed hand tightened around her throat. She looked into a pair of deathly glowing green ones, then she was flying into a wall and blasted with jets of black lighting, she screamed silently as all air was sucked from her lungs and then she was allowed to breathe.

"I still have use for you, but you will not be trusted again. Your daughter will never marry Harry Potter and you will never have his money, you will die poor and alone like the rest of your family, know that," the figure crooned softly as the woman's face fell from fear to rage.

"I deserve," she began indignantly thinking she was in the clear but her protests were followed by another round of lightning and once again she tried and failed to scream.

"You deserve nothing, be thankful I permitted you to live, now go!" the figure roared and Draco tried to shield his eyes from the lightning, it caused things to fall. The lightning stopped and the figure turned towards the cupboard where Draco was hiding.

"Now what was that?" it asked gently gliding through the air towards the cupboard

"Is someone eavesdropping? I hope not because the punishment would be a slow agonising death if I found them. So I do hope if someone was listening they would show themselves and spare the pain awaiting them," it continued in an almost motherly voice but it was filled with cruelty and pain, Draco looked around for something to hide in or a way to escape and found nothing, then he remembered.

The figure then threw the cupboard doors open to find not a student, just a few dropped glass vials and a dead fox, the figure assumed Snape was harvesting ingredients and closed the door. Frustrated it gave Molly Weasley one last zap

"You thought that was pain? That was nothing compared to what I went through, now leave!" it commanded angrily and the woman vanished in black smoke. The figure gave the class one last long look before vanishing in a huff.

Great Hall

"Do you ever get the feeling something bad is about to happen?" Hermione wondered aloud to Cho who was sitting next to her, Harry looked up from his book and helped himself to another sandwich.

"Yes every time Draco opens his mouth," was her snarky response as she noticed the blond boy run into the hall. They were waiting for him, Luna, Crabbe and Goyle who were around the castle after finishing their various classes however Draco did seem a bit worried or scared, maybe both.

"I've got the feeling," she announced dryly lookin_g_ up as Draco sat down, he looked shaken and Harry put the paper down looking perplexed. Draco's explanation shocked them all

"Black lightning?" Harry asked and Draco nodded in confirmation

"It's the same person," he confirmed looking worried, the only thing that had ever beaten him was in the castle and he quickly looked around to ensure it wasn't going to pop up behind him.

"Great so we have a psychopathic monster roaming the school," Cho sighed looking almost annoyed more than scared

"Another one?" Hermione smiled "We can deal with it next year, I mean last year it was Quirrel and this year it was a giant snake, only one problem a year."

"Why don't you deal with this one, I mean you were asleep through the whole Basilisk thing so you can deal with the creepy guy," Draco suggested feeling more himself now the shock had worn off.

"No," Cho responded blandly picking at her food "Besides this guy, thing whatever has been around all year so let's just live and let live until next year,"

"Do we have one crazy adventure a year?" Harry inquired aloud,

"Yes, how about next year we do something more simple. I mean this year we were finding a hidden chamber and chatting to giant spiders how about we do something more simple, find a dog maybe or some kind of weak human being?" Draco asked aloud.

"Draco knowing our luck the dog with be fifty feet tall and the weak person with be Voldemort in disguise, wait no we've done that already," Hermione announced and Draco smirked.

"How many things have you done?" was his innocent comeback,

"Cho slap him," Harry requested and she complied very quickly. A loud _crack _filled the hall for a moment, it wasn't hard but it probably stung a bit.  
"Oww!" he proclaimed indignantly rubbing his cheek while Cho admired her hand

"I really need to do that more often," she announced.

_Crack_

"Owww!" Draco proclaimed again as Hermione had a go "What was that for?"

"Are you really expecting me to answer that?" Hermione asked looking exasperated,

"No," Draco decided seeing as it was his best chance of not being slapped again.

"Luna you having a go?" Harry offered to the girl who shook her head.

"I've got something else planned," she grinned evilly looking at Draco.

Azkaban Prison 

Lucy was feeling confused, as normal she had been gliding alone the maximum security wing handing out food when she felt something different. It was in the corner of her mind and it was only later she didn't sense Bellatrix or Sirius. However the moment she went back to investigate they were there, both of them. Now she knew Sirius had been out a few times but she still had no idea how, he did comeback so she never really pressed the matter knowing he and Harry shared a bond. However she hadn't sensed that at all and when she remembered them they were there. Either she was going mad or something was going on, or both. Harry would be back in a few weeks so maybe Bella was hoping to get out of her cell to see Harry, but the whole thing still made no sense. She was a Dementor and people always had emotions so why were they not there?

"_Are you ok?" _Dora inquired gliding up alongside her

"_Fine, I'm fine just thinking," _Lucy explained not wanting to alert any other Dementors to this, it would end up with the prison going on high alert and the chance of Harry entering the prison quickly during high alert was zero. It was a series of potions to ensure you were who you said you were, tests to make sure you hadn't been imperious and once some poor guy had a secrecy sensor placed somewhere delicate due to him walking funny. No she would deal with this herself

"_Dangerous that," _Dora pointed out jokingly but she could tell Lucy was concerned, however that had been a constant during the year. She was a mother and she was worried about her child also Harry had explained about the chamber obviously leaving something out but he gave the facts. It would enough to send any human mother running to the school in a frenzy but Dora knew Lucy was more patient more understanding. A quality that had set her apart from many other of their sisters but one that ensured her mothering ability was the best it could be, so Dora decided to leave the matter for now. Not knowing that behind them a raven was perched on the windowsill, looking at them both with familiar eyes.

One week later 

"What a year we've had," Harry smiled holding a glass of pumpkin juice, Cho's glass hit his and Hermione did the same. Luna joined in with what looked like tomato juice and Harry hoped it was sincerely

"Not really a year just ten months of insanity," Hermione pointed out as Draco, Crabbe and Goyle did the same on the other table,

"Maybe next year we could meet some woozles," Luna suggested and Hermione gritted her teeth in an effort to hold her tongue.

"Or Crumple horned..." Luna continued

"We can meet a lot of things next year but let's focus on getting to the end of this one," Cho interrupted not wanting Hermione to explode. Harry watched Dumbledore stand with very little interest, Ravenclaw had won second place in the Quiddich cup due to the amount of time Cho spent petrified. During the last few games however they had risen quickly and they had only been beaten by Slytherin by fifty points. Harry's wasn't banking on the house cup that much either, the teachers who had suspected him of being the heir had no awarded him many points and it had applied to a lot of Ravenclaws. However he was at least sure Gryffindor was not going to win because Ron Weasley had tried to trash the trophy room because in a childish attempt to destroy Harry 's award for closing the chamber. Gryffindor had lost one hundred points for each broken cabinet so about two thousand points had been lost.

"It has been a long year, a year full of fear and regret. We have lost a member of staff who died saving a student, we almost lost a lot of good students this year and we were saved by one of us who showed great courage in the chamber and for that I award his house the cup," Dumbledore announced slowly and Harry looked dumbfounded for a moment.

"So he's stopped the whole_ Harry is evil thing? _and right back to _Harry is a hero_ then," Hermione sighed working out what he was doing already.

"Hermione have you ever heard the saying don't look a gift horse in the mouth?" Cho whispered, she nodded.

"This gift may be a bribe in a bad disguise but here we are," Cho continued in the same moment Dumbledore announced the house name and it descended into a chaos of clapping and cheering. Ron Weasley was now a shade of red and Harry knew then they had ended the year on a high note.

"And it all ends well again," Draco announced with a smile.

"I got Fred and George to slip laxatives into your drink," Luna told him turning away.


	38. Chapter 38

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 38

Harry had gone to bed with a smile; the train journey home had been slightly awkward with Draco rushing off to the toilet every ten minutes with an angry glare at Luna every time. Luna had been very popular on the way home surprisingly, Cho had suggested that the girl do it every time Draco annoyed one of them but she had been rebuffed when Luna told her it would bankrupt her family within a week and also leaving Draco skin and bones because there would be nothing left of him.

"_Harry," _Lucy had said the moment he arrived before pulling him into a loving and tender hug the moment they met and this time not a single person was surprised. It was a regular but strange occurrence now and they tolerated it, some understood and others didn't but Molly Weasley was not stupid enough to try something else.

"Harry, Lucy!" Lucius had greeted handing them an invitation to the summer party the Malfoy's were holding, no purebloods had been particular open this year as the Chamber of Secrets was on the front page almost every day. It pointed fingers at people and a party would have been seen as celebrating a monster, so none of them had held one for Christmas. Something that had been missed considerably,

"Nice to see you Mr Malfoy," Harry assured the man who had insisted on shaking Harry's hand, as Draco had been down in the chamber with Harry he had been alerted. Draco had explained what happened to him down in the chamber and how Harry had saved him from a giant swarm thing. The creature had not been indentified and it couldn't be but people were trying, Harry had apparently destroyed it and that had made the front page. Leaving out the explicit details Harry was a hero to Lucius and a lot of others who did not approach. The Dementor was one reason the other was the fact the minister of magic himself was walking towards them.

"Harry m'boy," he greeted and Harry was thankful that Umbridge was not around, however Fudge was accompanied by a woman with a camera who was following his footsteps with near glee.

"Afternoon minister," Harry greeted as the man walked forward with people watching intently, Harry was confused he normally only met the minister in the holidays and that was occasionally so what was he doing here?

"Harry Potter, for a while people have speculated on your deeds, your defeat of a dark lord has been studied by hundreds but none has found an answer to how you did it. But this year it has been a much different case, you went into the chamber of secrets and destroyed a monster that threatened the lives of your friends and for that I can think of one prize. We gave an order of Merlin third class to the person who arrested Sirius Black and like him you have done a great, possibly greater deed and for that I award you with the same," Fudge announced and a collective gasp ran through the crowd. This was unheard of, a second year obtaining something it took most lifetimes to achieve, but sure enough Fudge withdrew a certificate from his pocket which spoke volumes.

_This is to certify that Harry James Potter has obtained an order of Merlin third class award for his great deeds. _

"Thank you," was all Harry could say looking shocked, he had not been expecting something like this and he wondered if Fudge was only doing it because they knew each other.

"Do not thank me, thank yourself for you earned it," Fudge declared shaking Harry's hand which was caught in a picture by the woman accompanying him. The crowd who had remained dumbstruck now burst into applause with the exception of Molly and Ron Weasley who were instead scowling.

"Congratulations Mr Potter," Fudge beamed then knowing Harry would want to get home after his long journey so after a few moments he turned and left. Lucy remained uncharacteristically silent until the crowd had died done and they were walking. Then she put a skeletal hand around Harry's shoulder and pulled him close,

"_You pulled yourself out of a pit of darkness, you overcame your hunger for souls and saved hundreds of lives, Harry I have never been prouder to be your mother_," she had said and if she human then tears would have run down her face in bucketfuls. Harry was not going to tell her about the figure, the idea would terrify her and most likely ensure he was not sent back to school next year, she had considered it once after Quirrel and this year had been worse somehow.

"_I know you think you didn't that award but you did, not for the reasons they think but you did a great thing. Not many can fight a monster inside them and outside them at the same time," _Lucy told him gently knowing her son all too well.

"Thanks mum," he had told her with tears brimming in his eyes too, and together they walked down the station and vanished into the shadows. When they arrived home Harry had spoken with his Godfather and adoptive aunt who were ecstatic for him, they had talked for much longer than normal and then Harry had felt the time slip by and he excused himself to bed. His award had been framed and he did sleep with a smile.

Later

Sirens, magical sirens woke him up and he saw legions of Dementors gliding towards the maximum security ward in frenzy, the air was icy with what was a mixture of fear and anger. Harry was confused, nothing like this had ever happened in the time he lived here and he could tell that the other Dementors felt the same.

"_Lock it down!" _a voice was demanding as Harry quietly looked outside his cell to see what was going on, he was swept up in the swarm of Dementors and he accompanied them. What did they mean lock down? No one in the prison had the energy to fight let alone cause a problem so what the hell was going on? Had someone broken in? He didn't even consider the possibility that someone had gotten out, it was impossible except for Sirius who was an animgaus but he wouldn't leave. As he approached the maximum security cells he was going to say hello to Sirius and Bella who he knew would be awake thanks to the loud sirens, however he then found the Dementors were gathering around their cells because they were empty.

"_There's no one in there is there?" _Dora questioned she was part of the crowd

"_Ask Harry," _one of them suggested knowing only he had eyes; some were convinced it was some kind of drill or mistake but Harry knew he could not lie to them. Both cells were empty and he told them so

"No there's no one in there," they all understood him and they knew he was telling the truth, if he had said there was then they would have disbelieved him but they didn't. Two people had escaped the most secure prison in the world and they hadn't even said goodbye to him.

The morning 

"_I'm sorry Harry," _Lucy soothed puling Harry close, they were both in his room but Harry was upset. He felt betrayed, angry and relieved at the same time, betrayed because he had no idea they were going to leave, angry because they hadn't said goodbye and relived because they had escaped this place. For him it was different, he could talk to Dementors and the chill never touched him but it had once, once and he remembered it now in full colour. He had never thought about how hard it was for Bella and Sirius to be around it constantly, only leaving once he was close enough and even then not much.

"It's not your fault mum," Harry assured her, he knew how they broke out but he was not inclined to tell anyone, if they had gone through all the trouble to get out then he was not going to help recapture them. Lucy knew Sirius had gotten out before, often in fact but he always came back and she barely noticed because he was an animal, Bella bust have trained from him without potion which would have taken years of effort, five years in fact if she was lucky.

"_It is, we're the guards of these people, they broke out and that is our fault," _Lucy confessed her feelings

"No it's not, it would have been hard enough to stop them, however the ministry aren't going to be happy," Harry warned

"_They're not, Fudge will be here soon and happy is not his mood. Now listen to me, Fudge didn't want detailed information on your life here for a reason, because he knows what these people have done and he will treat Sirius and Bella like criminals. He may talk to you but I think he try and avoid it, but if he does speak about it then you spoke to them both once or twice, you have no idea who they are or what they have done. Fudge will pretend to believe you but do not let on anything about the bond you two shared, don't talk to the aurors either they won't be told anything about you but if they ask one of us will get you out," _Lucy explained with obvious concern, the last thing she needed was one auror being mouthy about Harry Potter being friends with a murderer.

"I know," Harry confirmed knowing already how serious this was, an escape from Azkaban was going to be front page news and arrors would be combing the place, he was going to have to slip away at some point to the Malfoy's but until it could be sorted out he just needed to avoid them.

"_Good, I'm sorry Harry," _Lucy sighed wanting to do nothing more than bring them back just so Harry could have part of his family back.

Meanwhile 

A raven and a dog moved through the countryside at high speed, both were riddled with guilt. They had left Harry behind and tears fell from the Raven's eye when she realised that she hadn't even said goodbye, the boy who had saved them from the chill and helped her climb out of the monster she was. She was going to be kissed if she was found and she realised that her relationship with Harry was never going to be the same, Sirius Black felt the same and that the reason they stuck to their animal forms. Dementors were flying overhead but they did not sense the animals nor would they care if they could but that was not the only reason, they did not want to talk they wanted to feel remorse. However them escaping was good thing in many ways, they could be free and try and correct some of the wrongs that had been done to them and Harry over the years.

They had first decided to track down Pettigrew but the feel of fresh air for the first time was enough to send almost all thoughts from her head. She was _free _she would have traded everything for this years ago but now it felt like something she just had, perhaps she had made a mistake but she couldn't correct it and her own body would not allow her to. She was going to fly free literally and she was going to see Harry again, but her heart froze when she thought how he, the boy who had saved her would react to her abandoning him. Of course he would understand but he would still be hurt and Bellatrix just hoped from in the depths of her heart that Harry would forgive her but each time she thought about it a voice in the back of her head just whispered how he wouldn't.

She only needed to take one look into Siruis's eyes to know he feared the exact same thing.


	39. Chapter 39

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 39

_Dual Breakout from Azkaban_

_By Rita Skeeter _

_Today the wizardwing world recoiled in shock as Azkaban for the first time had an escapee, two in fact. Bellatrix Lestrange and Sirius Black, both known supporters of You-Know-Who and also both serving life sentences for multiple accounts of murder. The news was received with shock as it became apparent the most secure prison in the world was no longer secure and immediately the Dementors were given emergency powers. The ministry would like to remind you that as of now Dementors are able to search any vehicle or person if they suspect they have knowledge of the escapee's location, they will be patrolling any area they believe Lestrange and Black to be in and Fudge has also ordered them to guard Hogwarts during the term. Both Bellatrix Lestrange and Sirius Black have motive to attack the school and if they do it is likely to assume the effects would be devastating for anyone involved. Minister Fudge assured us the safety of the wizarding world was his top concern_

"_Off course we will do everything we can to bring these people to justice and we will guarantee the safety of anyone we believe to be at risk." Was what he said to the prophet and we can also tell you that even the muggle world have been informed of the attack, the prime minister of the muggles has been warned about Black and given an auror guard thanks to the fugitives hatred of muggles and also the people have been warned he is carrying a gun. This is some kind of muggle wand they use to kill people apparently and a number has been set up to ensure the two fugitives are found quickly and directly. Some people have wondered if this has anything to with Harry Potter's recent Order of Merlin third class award making him the youngest person to win one, some claim Black and Lestrange want to prove the Death Eaters are still strong and cannot be beaten by a boy. _

_For more on Azkaban- Page3_

_For information on the fugitives- page 4-5_

_For information on Harry Potter- page 6_

Fudge sighed deeply as he moved through his office; his day had consisted of various press meetings and explanations to what seemed like a hundred different people. Each one had something they thought was different but at the end of the day it boiled down to the same things, _how did Sirius Black escape? How did Bellatrix Lestrange escape with him, were they together? _On and on the questions came but the answers were never there for Fudge to mention. He had no idea how it had happened nor did he know where they were. He had spent the morning ensuring Harry was safe because the aurors could potentially see him but luckily Lucy had taken him out once she realised how serious the situation had got. Obviously she had mixed feelings on Black as did Fudge, he knew Harry and his godfather knew each other and well by the sounds of it but he decided not to interfere. He decided that if Harry could make a murderer repent then he could reach someone like Black, it had eaten him up with guilt when he decided but suddenly he doubted himself. Black had a chance to kill Harry, he could have done it the moment he broke out and yet he chose not to, Lestrange was devoted to the dark lord and yet she did nothing.

No something else was going on here and Fudge realised that perhaps he was not seeing the full picture, maybe he should review the files but... no there were no files on Black; he was never charged or given a chance to explain so no evidence was collected. Lestrange was a different case but getting your head round her actions was near impossible, no the only remedy for this was strong brandy and he kept a bottle around just in case of an emergency. Speaking of Harry did he seem slightly down today? They bumped into each other once and it was a quick conversation despite the boy winning an order of Merlin less than twenty four hours before, no maybe Harry knew something about all this. The more Fudge thought about it the more obvious it became Harry knew a lot more than anyone would guess but Fudge decided not to guess. For now, first he wanted to work out Black's actions and then he would talk to the boy and only if it was necessary.

He needed to find out why Black and Lestrange passed up a golden opportunity, did they fear the Dementors? Well of course they did but they still escaped, did they go a different way but Harry's room was close, if they could slip out of their cells they would have passed him. So why did they ignore him? They weren't pressed for time evidently so why? It made no sense to Fudge whatsoever and yet he detected something else was going on. Maybe Black and Harry were in on it together but that theory fell apart in an instant, Harry was close to his Dementor family and nothing could get between them. Black had no way of manipulating the boy or hurting him due to the cells and Dementors draining his thoughts so what was going on? Was it possible that they had come to like Harry?

"Do you need anything minister?" Dolores asked suddenly and Fudge jumped; spilling some of his brandy in the process, he cursed lowly but said nothing further on the topic.

"Could you bring up the files on Bellatrix Lestrange and the records of Sirius Black please?" he asked her and the woman gave a quick nod before speeding off. She was efficient but only trying to please him which was fine with Fudge until the time came when she expected a reward in return. However something was bothering Fudge when he received the imprisonment records of Black, the entire file was no more than two inches thick, there was only one image and the witness statements were faded, there was very little evidence here, it wasn't even evidence most of it. There had been a file restoration a few weeks ago so why had it been left out? Suddenly Fudge realised that in his hands he may have proof of the conspiracy he had suspected ever since Harry Potter had been brought to his attention, maybe if he followed it then the whole thing would unravel. Little did he know that these thoughts alone had set in motion the next part of the great prophecy.

Meanwhile 

Dumbledore walked into the meeting room, the secretive order had once again been forced to meet outside of their schedule but this time he had nothing to do with its meeting. He had been summoned like everyone else

"Good evening," the figure announced glancing up at him, Dumbledore hastily took his seat.

"Why have you called us here?" the old man asked looking at his co-leader with some concern, only the gravest matter could have brought them here tonight.

"Ladies and gentleman it appears we have a problem, a problem unlike any we have encountered before and this includes the assassination of Lily Potter, it appears that despite all our efforts Harry Potter has joined forced with those we needed him to hate, to despise and fight against. This alliance must end, we must ensure our control over him is absolute and it is time to do this through more direct means, he has evaded our shadowed movements but latched on to tail ends and now he knows more than we wanted him to. So we have only one way forward, we must assassinate Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger, Cho Chang, Luna Lovegood along with both Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle," the figure explained quickly.

"Excuse me!" one of the congregation stood up, he was an auror and one that kept the group informed on the ministry's movements

"What is it?" the figure snarled menacingly not wanting to be interrupted,

"Look when I signed up to this no one mentioned anything about murdering children, it's not something we can do I mean they're children can't we find some other way to get to them?" he asked looking shocked that his order would do something like that.

"Evidently you have no understanding of the greater good, goodbye," the figure replied crisply and suddenly a jet of black lightning hit the man in a flood. Everyone at the table leapt back as he screamed and only when his skin blackened and the man died did the light stop.

"Do we understand each other? The figure asked in a plain businesslike tone, the group was stunned. Never had this happened during a meeting; sure they heard of their colleagues vanishing and they knew what happened but never had someone been killed in front of them.

"Good, make the arrangements those six must die," the figure explained calmly before vanishing into black smoke.

The next day 

Harry did feel down about the escape but he filled his day with Quidditch and anything to take his mind of what happened, he expected to see a big black dog any second but never did it happen. It would be foolish to appear here anyway, only Draco knew of Harry's bond with him. If Bella appeared she would be welcomed perhaps but it would be something of a stretch, and a crime.

"So where do you think they went?" Draco asked eventually wanting to know something about his aunt, they were both in the garden of Malfoy Manor, sitting on the grass after a long game.

"I want to say somewhere they'll never be found but knowing both of them I'm guessing their heading straight for Hogwarts," Harry confessed, he had told Draco a long time ago about what Sirius had told him. He hadn't told anyone else about it though.

"Why would they go there?" Draco asked looking bewildered, Harry sighed

"Because they both have something against Dumbledore, for some reason the old man framed Sirius; well he tried to do the same thing to me last year. Anyway to prove his innocence Sirius is going to try and find Pettigrew and he thinks Dumbledore knows where the rat is, "Harry explained, he had worked it out very quickly after the escape.

"Still if they're looking for a rat why are they jumping into the jaws of a Lion, Dumbledore isn't exactly going to welcome them in," Draco pointed out, Harry for a moment looked around. He needed to make sure no one was listening and luckily despite the heat of the day both Lucius and Narcissa were inside.

"He's not going to know, I know how they escaped," Harry murmured and Draco looked up

"Dementors can't sense animals as well as humans, Sirius was an animagus. I think he taught Bella over the years and they both legged it. I think Dumbledore knows how they did it and he also knows Sirius takes the form of a dog but not Bella's form. He has no idea what she is and unless he starts searching every animal he won't find out easily," He pointed out. Draco gave a slight laugh

"So the seven permanent animagus residents may need to watch out,"

"Nothing we don't do anyway," Harry smiled at the vague reference. He wondered briefly if they would show up at the summer party the Malfoy's were throwing next week and were already getting ready for; Dobby was running here there and everywhere getting all the wine and food orders ready. Harry often felt sorry for the elf around party time and wondered if he could somehow get the Malfoy's to free him, then again the elf seemed to know a lot of things. Perhaps Harry should have a long conversation with him and find out the extent of his knowledge.

"Anyway as much fun as getting heatstroke with you is, fancy another game?" Draco offered breaking Harry's train of thought.

"Sure,"


	40. Chapter 40

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 40

The escape had weighed on Harry's mind every day in the two weeks building up to the party, Lucy had been selected as part of the search teams and it seemed she would be busy until Sirius and Bella were found. However as the banners, fountains and a thousand other decorations were raised into the air Harry's mind became a lot more occupied and the day the party came he felt much better

"Welcome, Welcome to our manor, welcome to the summer Malfoy Party," Lucius greeted the guests as their host with Narcissa draped in black dress, her neck weighed down with a black stone. On their right was Draco in his dress robes and Harry next to him, it seems as he was their guest he was being treated as one of the hosts which felt strange, however seeing as most of the party were on their third drink already it wasn't likely to stay a memory for long.

"Now before we get the party started for real I have a few announcements, first remember get drunk but too drunk, if you can remember your wife you're not drunk enough, if you can't remember your name you're too drunk," the man announced jokingly and a slight chuckle went up from the crowd. Harry noticed Pansy's parents lost in some kind of scowl, their marriage proposals had gone unanswered once more and the only reason Lucius invited them was because they had sway in politics. They were part of his whip in the Wizengamot, they voted together from what Harry could tell; despite Lucius hating the pair of them it all went smoothly.

"Now I would also like to propose a toast to Harry Potter, a good friend of my family and recent winner of an order of Merlin third class award," Lucius followed up and Harry fought off a wave of embarrassment. It was odd being toasted by the congregation raised their glasses without consulting him.

"Now I'm not going to take up much more of your time, you have drinking to do," Lucius smiled and after a slight chuckle the party went back to the tables. The fountain this time was being used as a champagne refill station and it was no surprise Dobby had been assigned to guard it from any unfortunate underage child walking along. Harry did not even try, he was a bit too young for alcohol and he needed his senses to stop the party ending with souls being torn out, Draco had been shooed away already so they wandered outside. After a few moments Hermione and Cho joined them, they were both wearing dresses this time; Cho had bought a new light blue one while Hermione opted for lilac, Harry suspected Cho had helped her with the makeup but both looked good. However Cho turned back to see Dobby still pointing her outside,

"Yes because we're so obviously young alcoholics," Cho commented when she and Hermione reached Harry and Draco, she had been walking too near to the fountain apparently and Dobby had shooed her away.

"Well you do have a tendency to lash out on poor innocent people, imagine how bad you'll be when you get drunk," Draco commented before being punched in the arm.

"See!" He commented, he received a cold glare in response.

"Where's Luna?" Hermione asked with a frown, she knew Draco had got Lucius to invite her and her dad; so where were they? Draco checked his drink and looked at it for a few long moments. Cho laughed. Harry already knew, his senses had given it away but he wasn't going to spoil the surprise.

"Here I am," Luna announced popping up behind Draco who was checking his butterbeer very intently, he jumped and his drink ended up on the floor.

"Hi Luna," Harry smiled as Crabbe and Goyle walked towards them, they had also been shooed away from the champagne fountain but unlike Cho it had been no accidental wandering.

"No luck boys?" Draco asked,

"Did you ask them to get us drinks?" Cho asked with a concerned frown

"No I asked them to get me a drink," Draco corrected with a smile, Harry snickered at that but fell silent when he met Cho's glare.

"Nah, your elf's pretty sneaky Draco," Crabbe commented,

"Very sneaky," Goyle confirmed looking around just in case Dobby was about to appear.

"Oh hi Luna didn't see you there," Crabbe greeted seeing her for the first time,

"Yeah hi," Goyle echoed his friends words as they approached.

"Don't worry I'm sure Pansy's swimming in it," Draco chortled referencing her rebellious nature, something that may have been wiser to say when she was walking up behind him.

"She's behind me isn't she?" Draco sighed turning round, instantly he was met by a stinging slap

"Owww," he announced as Pansy glared at him

"Ok I'm sorry," he sighed

"Hi Pansy," Harry smiled, he did not see much of her any more, she hung around with different people at Hogwarts and aside from the occasional conversation they did not meet up that often; a shame she still was a good friend of his and had been since he first met the Malfoy's.

"Hey Harry, Cho, Hermione, Crabbe, Goyle, Luna, Draco... God's that a lot of names," she replied taking a deep breath.

"Don't worry this time next year Draco may be dead," Cho smiled glaring at Draco

"Another death threat, see how bad are you going to be if you get drunk," he asked with mock fear

"One of us might castrate you," Luna suggested and Draco took a few steps away from her,

"Never know," Cho smiled nodding slightly causing Draco to take a step away from her

"I'm scared," was all he said.

"Are they still making you wear that thing?" Harry asked Pansy, she was wearing the same dress she had worn last year but just slightly bigger and more revealing. Her parents had gone from flaunting to desperation, padding around her chest and most of the skirt cut off made Harry wonder her parents had got the idea from one of those films Sirius often spoke off and there wasn't a hope in hell the party was ending like that.

"Yes, "Pansy shuddered.

"Still trying to marry you off to some handsome stud?" Draco questions toying with his buttons

"No they're trying to marry me off to you and it's still not happening," she countered and everyone chuckled even Draco

"Look your parents just have good taste, I just don't think you're the girl for me," he responded

"And you're not the one for me, we've both known this for years," Pansy commented

"Look at you, getting over such a detrimental loss so quick," Draco continued with a smile.  
"Draco I'm going to hit you," Pansy warned

"And me," Cho confirmed

"And me," Hermione nodded

"And everyone else," Luna volunteered Harry, Crabbe, Goyle and herself.

"So Harry what's happened with the breakout?" Pansy asked suddenly; she obviously wanted to make sure he was ok as did the rest of them but she had been the only one who brought it up. Perhaps she was being braver than the others but Harry did not want to detail his inner feelings to anyone about the escape.

"Stressful," he decided on eventually "It's been terrible every night there's about nine cell searches and the prisoners are being given cavity searches every day now." It was all true but gave nothing away about Harry's true feelings.

"What's a cavity search?" Draco wondered not being too sure of the concept, Hermione leaned forward and whispered the answer

"They do what?" Draco leapt back thinking of Lucy's skeletal hands, he was looking at his and shuddering.

"Oh yeah," Harry confirmed taunting Draco, it was actually done by aurors who had eyes but anything to turn the tables on, Pansy frowned obviously that was not the answer she wanted but she decided to leave it. Harry obviously did not want to talk about it so she decided to leave the matter.

"So what else has been going on?" Harry wondered aloud,

"Oh my mum got a promotion, she's now out of that woman's control; Umbridge I think it is," Cho began

"I know her," Harry muttered ; his opinion of the woman had changed slightly; on one hand she was still a greed irritable woman only helping him to get Fudge's approval but then again she was helping him so that merited him to at least be nice to her.

"You need to be careful, Daddy says that the ministry people are actually puppets," Luna warned,

"The woozles do not control the government Luna," Hermione got her point before Luna could make it, however much to Harry's amusement Luna did not make that point.

"I know, woozles control the honey market no according to Daddy he found an ancient book that says the government is controlled by these things called Daleks," Luna confirmed and Hermione went a shade of bright red as Harry and Cho stifled a laugh. They knew the reference but unlike Hermione they did not need to tell Luna they weren't real.

"What's Dalek?" Pansy asked, Draco looked confused as well along with Crabbe and Goyle.

"They're pepper pot shaped machines that control the government," Lune explained as Hermione tired to formulate a response; it was not working well for her seeing as there was no logical response.

"Oh and the media's run by a giant beetle," Luna interjected and Harry saw Hermione looked deflated for a moment.

"Ok well this isn't mental at all, anyway I'm going to get us some more drinks," Draco announced brightly slightly confused by the situation, quickly he wandered back towards the manor. Pansy's parents were nowhere to be seen and most of the people were too drunk to engage in conversation

"No Master Draco your mother said no champagne," Dobby warned suddenly popping into existence,

"I'm just here for some more butterbeer," Draco told the elf who nodded and vanished, obviously in a disbelieving tone

"Hey Master Malfoy," one of the guests slurred, Draco turned to see a middle-aged man slouched on a chair, he held out a bottle of butterbeer which he had picked up from the tables, it had been put out as a tokenistic gift.

"Thanks," Draco smiled taking the bottle, the man did not move to look at him but he caught the glint of spectacles, he did not recognise the man but he accepted the drink. It was unopened and he was among friends so it wasn't 'going to be anything dodgy.

"Ahh finally," Cho commented the moment he returned, after he filled their glasses at Hermione moved to take a sip

"Wait, wait, wait!" Draco ordered and she gave him a confused stare, but she didn't drink any, nor did anyone else as they waited for Draco to explain why.

"We need to toast first," he announced and Pansy just shook her head before thinking of one

"Ok fine, a toast to me not marrying Draco Malfoy," she announced thrusting her glass forward,

"I'll drink to that," Cho confirmed and slowly one by one they toasted each other, but as Hermione's and Cho's glasses chinked Harry noticed a single drop of buterbeer fall to the floor, he didn't know why he followed its path but suddenly he noticed it hit the floor. Smoke came next, a flicker of white gas that vanished quickly, but not quickly enough.

"Drop them!" Harry ordered as Cho's glass approached her lips, Hermione was inches away from the drink and Draco actually had the glass in his mouth ready to take a drink. Harry quickly pushed the glasses away with a bolt of energy and they shattered a few metres away,

"What the hell was tha..." Pansy demanded before turning to see smoke rising, it was white like snow but it crept through the air.

"Did anyone drink it?" Harry demanded and thankfully he was met by universal no's,

"What is that stuff?" Draco demanded

"Some kind of poison obviously, quite deadly stuff," Cho commented looking at the smoke intently, it was fading now and in a moment there was nothing left to even suggest there had ever a poison present.

"Where the hell did you get that?" Hermione demanded looking at Draco

"Some guy gave it to me," Draco explained

"And you took it?" Hermione was stunned

"Well it was sealed and it was on a table that we put butterbeer on," Draco defended,

"Stop now!" Harry commanded, "It's not Draco's fault, he didn't know it was poisoned and now that I think about we're forgetting something; Like the simple fact that there happens to be an assassin inside the manor,"


	41. Chapter 41

Raised by Darkness: Chapter 41

**Ok we're coming to the point where the mystery is going to unwind and year 4 and 5 will be more battle, I would like to thank everyone for reading and someone has come very close to the mysterious figure's identity. **

**Apple **

James Potter moved through the crowd with a venomous smile on his masked face, a face that could belong to any middle-aged man and before Draco Malfoy died he would not be able to place it. By then the mask would have been burned and he would be gone, his only wish was there had been no antidotes. Two he had been given and one was under orders from his master, she had told him to never tell anyone and he only knew it was a she because of one accidental stutter. Something she had missed but he had not, he had served the organization for years and had taken it upon himself to marry their prime target during his first few years of both school and servitude. He had married Lily Potter to keep an eye on her but he could never have guessed it was actually her watching him, she was slowly digging up the conspiracy and putting it in that loathsome journal he could never understand. James was never the person he claimed, he had conspired with Pettigrew to make him the secret keeper knowing it would put Sirius out of action, he had helped set up an entire life that his supposed son would live and filled it with pain and suffering only for it to be brushed aside. He was a sadistic person and he had given the boy the antidote and that girl, apparently her living was essential. A shame but on the bright side the kids poisoned would die in agony, it was poison extracted from the bark of the _acciatha _tree, very rare but inside was a chemical that could be distilled into poison, poison that ate away the insides and took three days to kill but there was no cure or painkiller. He was supposed to kill five children, his colleagues thought six but they were wrong, in the corner of his eye he saw Snape, Snivellus! So he came to the party this year, obviously making up with Harry had led him to realise that he needed more of a social life. James however; well he thought of the many things he had lost out on the chance to inflict on the slimy git. The things he had done made Snape into the person he was but somehow the boy had broken through, however it made little difference in the end; soon he would have his chance but first he needed to escape. The door for some reason was hidden from view, but it made no odds

"Lucius its Draco help!" he heard the Malfoy bitch squeal and he let himself smile sadistically; he had wanted to hurt the brat Lily claimed was his son for years and now he would do it indirectly. Only two would survive, two who would grow close enough for one to be the perfect bargaining tool over the other.

"My God!" he heard Lucius cry before a blood curling scream followed, oh this had turned out so perfectly, he was going to be rewarded for this. Oh he would be the favoured prince of Dumbledore and the shady figure, oh indeed. Then James looked for the door, this time it was nowhere to be seen and for some reason the room seemed almost empty, people around him seemed false, like cardboard cut-outs designed to trick those who were not really looking.

"_I take it you don't know who the figure is?" _a voice demanded from above, when he looked again the room had become a prison, bars on every window and a strange grey fog filling the room.

"What the hell?" he demanded wondering that question indeed, how had he been found? How had his entire world changed,

"_Look I know this is all serious and what not but this link between us is pretty cool, look I can interact with the world," _another more comical voice said and James turned to the side and was punched by a red boxing glove that had appeared from nowhere.

"_Draco this is no time for jokes_," a girly voice hissed and James looked for the source, someone was tricking him and he needed to know why.

"_Look mate everything you say is going through our minds as well, two things, one..." _the first voice began

"_See a healer about those thoughts I mean they are not normal, who the hell imagines something like that!" _the other male voice interrupted as James's vision was clouded by the fog. James was looking for the person making the fog but his vision was now nothing but white, maybe this was much more than a simple trick.

"_Ok three things, but anyway thank you for giving the details of your failed assassination attempt and also thank you for alleviating any guilt or betray I would have felt when you mentioned you're not actually my Dad," _Harry Potter's voice crisp and cool filled the air.

"Your Dementor powers," James growled

"_Actually I got this idea from the horcrux and thanks to a connection we all share all of your would be victims can now interact with the world, Luna no," _James could swear Harry was smiling when he said this.

"_Oh come just one hit, he has two and he's not going to use them again," _The Lovegood girl James supposed answered.

"_Thank God for that," _another female voice shuddered.

"_No, at least not yet," _Harry had actually considered allowing the girl to torture him! He was not the victim he was the torturer, his head was brimming with what he would do to these kids if he ever found them.

"_We can read your thoughts, for the love of God stop thinking before one of us gives you a heart attack!" _The original girl growled angrily.

"_I say kill him," _someone suggested and James paled slightly, he couldn't die here, he was needed, he was the only person who could... then he saw what they were doing. They were trying to gain access to his thoughts, since the discovery of his Dementor Powers everyone he worked with had gone through extensive occlumency training to keep people out. So instead of prising the information out they had tried to trick him.

"_Nice try Crabbe," _Harry sighed as James stopped thinking about his plans.

"_Seriously though, what are we going to do with him?" _Luna Lovegood asked, he recognised her voice this time

"_I say send him to Azkaban and let Lucy interrogate him," _someone else suggested, obviously Harry's friends knew a lot about his identity, if he could tell Dumbledore this information.

"_Not a chance in hell," _Harry scoffed; this guy was never seeing Dumbledore again

"_You know Minister Fudge is over there and his guard is too, what if we knock this guy out, tell Fudge who he is and what he tried to do, then he spends the rest of his life in Azkban with a few hundred Dementors who despise his very existence," _the comical one suggested and James did feel a slight pinch of unease. He had felt the Dementors once or twice and he was not...

"_Well he hates the idea so let's do that," _Harry decided finally, "_Luna can you please knock him out?" _

James did pale when Luna enthusiastically confirmed.

Later

Dementors were swarming Malfoy Manor, the moment Harry had torn of the mask and told Fudge who had decided on a show of force, or more truthfully he decided to ensure every Dementor knew what the man had tried to do. When Harry approached him he recognised the man and nearly fainted, James Potter was dead or so Fudge thought and then Harry calmly walked over and explained. His bodyguards had found a few miniscule drops of a very rare poison and Harry explained he and his friends combined their efforts to perform Legilimency on him. Fudge at first had been doubtful but when Harry had managed to read every one of his bodyguard's minds he had been forced to believe him. How had he learned it? But that was not what Fudge was concerned with, no it was how Harry was so calm when talking about his father; a father who had tried to kill him! Why the hell would a supposed hero like James Potter do that? However he had listened to Harry and ordered the arrest, and now Harry was being spoken too by every Dementor, Lucy had not been around which was lucky for James Potter. At least for now and Fudge was trying to comprehend how it happened, he was supposed to be dead; was Lily alive? Also he did wonder why James Potter had a look of pain when he was approached, like he had been attacked by a wild animal that had left no scars, the Lovegood girl had been standing next to him smiling and almost dancing. They were defiantly a weird bunch.

So what had happened? How had James survived? Why did he try and kill Harry? And what was really going on here? Harry seemed reluctant to speculate but Fudge already knew the answer, it went back to the file on Sirius Black, it was so short and yet every attempt to have it reviewed had been blocked by Dumbledore, this had to relate to the conspiracy he had found. It had to, he just wondered why Harry Potter was in the middle of it; had the boy latched on to it as well and was now a target; maybe he needed protection.

Later

Harry was up, the party had finished on a cold note as James Potter was led away and people had been kicked out after either being too drunk to question what was going on or sober enough to question. Harry surprisingly just felt a little deflated; he had been shocked beyond all wits when he and his friends found James Potter. Draco had directed them to the man who when he was walking didn't notice his transgression from the real to the mental world, the name had left him breathless but when it turned out the man wasn't his father Harry began to question. So he knew Lily Potter his mother married him to unravel the conspiracy she had been following if her journal was anything to go by and he had been sent to keep an eye on her and well something happened and Harry for the first time wondered who actually killed her.

"So whose my father?" he muttered to himself, he had assumed it was James but a single thought in the man's mind changed everything, he never knew the man so disconnected him once he realised there was no need to even acknowledge him as anything other than an assassin. A twisted one at that who had plotted to do something amazingly terrible but Harry knew something else. Snape had been planned from the start, so how did whoever James served know he was going to be born ten, fifteen years into the future? How could someone know that and if Lily Potter was the rebellious one at least to this plan then how could they predict her? No while his personal feelings were strange to say the least they were nothing compared to the shady organization which he knew existed now and the shady figure he had fought was in control. So who was his father? Why did he look so much like James? Maybe Lily had done something to stop him suspecting but either way Harry wanted to know his father actually was, maybe the journal was a clue? Obviously Lily Potter was a very different person to the one had heard about it and did ask the question if she was still alive. Though Harry knew it was false, Lily had been living with James Potter and after dipping his feet in the man's mind he knew either Voldemort killed her or James did and Harry now knowing James prayed to God it was the former.


	42. Chapter 42

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 42

"I have grave news ladies and gentlemen, it seems our favoured assassin and puppet has been captured by the Ministry of Magic," the figure announced, once again every member of the organization had been summoned and while they once looked annoyed now they were terrified. James Potter knew a lot about them, he could lead the entire Ministry to this room and the moment he was captured they knew they had lost their best weapon.

"How could this have happened?" Molly Weasley demanded and the figure for a few moments considered killing her, she had obviously outlived most of her usefulness and was pushing her luck by speaking in this way, but for now she would leave her alone. The children would be more inclined to join if their mother was alive,

"It appears Mr Potter was far more competent than we believed and the man he thought to be his father was not the emotional blockade we had hoped; now under normal circumstances I would have James Potter destroyed but that seems to be impossible due to Azkaban security. Instead I have decided that no more assassination attempts are to take place," The figure explained darkly looking around the room with evident anger and distaste. As if it was blaming them for James's failure

"Why?" Dumbledore asked looking genuinely surprised, he had been fine with the idea; he would lose some students but Harry would be under their control if his friends were gone

"Because I have decreed it, you should not question me Albus. This decision has not been taken lightly and we must hope James Potter's withstanding methods are just as effective as his interrogating ones, now it is also time to tie up a loose end that we he allowed to live but I now fear it is too dangerous. Peter Pettigrew must be destroyed but I don't think any of us should do it," the figure barked but then trailed off with a slight smile hidden behind the hood.

"Then who?" the question was asked by one brave soul at one end of the table,

"Harry Potter,"

The skies above Diagon Alley

Lucy and Harry flew through the air, both of them were stressed but for different reasons. Harry had spent hours trying to work out what was going on and why his friends had been targeted by an assassin and Lucy was overworked. She was part of the team looking for Sirius and Bella and while Harry knew she had escaped a few times to speak to a certain prisoner but at least she was getting some time off. The clouds offered a stunning view as the golden ray's of the sun seeped into them like a river but the view was not the main thing on either of their minds.

"_Are you sure your ok Harry?" _she asked for what felt to Harry like the eighteen time, she had not been the only one either, the Malfoy's, other Dementors and pretty much every else he spoke to asked him that question. Each and every time he responded but every time no one could understand why he was not hurt or upset, he had been far more upset and angry when Sirius and Bella had run off and yet his supposed father being alive and a manic had not really bothered him at all. The only person who seemed to understand was Draco, he had not asked much about the incident at all other that why someone would target them. He had taken it will his usual attitude obviously and seemed unworried by the idea an assassin was after him, or was after him. Actually this morning Draco had been concerned with a very different thing. They had received the new care of magical creatures books which everyone would be taking up this year but before Harry had a chance to open his he heard screaming. He then saw Draco running through the manor halls being chased by a hungry book with its mouth open, Draco had called for help but Harry had been too busy laughing to actually help his friend out. Lucius and Narcissa had both laughed too, Draco just scowled and warned then he may put the book in their bedroom at night.

"I'm fine mum, I never knew him and besides it's hard to feel betrayed when he's not actually your father," Harry assured her knowing exactly what she was referring to. The only thing she could be, the press had referred to nothing else for the last week and it seemed every nut job with something to say was getting a chance to shout it. Speculations, accusations and more flew through the air and yet James had said nothing. He had quietly resigned himself to his fate and revealed no information, the trial if there was going to be one had not been arranged and now the media were getting their chance to swarm. Harry hoped it would all blow over soon but he had to admit to himself that it was very unlikely. The Azkaban escape had almost taken a backseat with the news and Harry found it incredible people were less concerned with a prison escape than someone being put in prison.

"_Oh Harry, trust me he is not going to be living the high life, literally we've put him in some of the underground cells surrounded almost twenty-four hours a day, he is not living well," _Lucy soothed with the anger brimming in her voice. Harry looked slightly surprised she could be that malicious, then again it was no less than what the man deserved,

"Anyway how's the search going?" Harry asked trying to change the subject to something that would not end with Lucy detailing how much pain James Potter was going to end up in.

"_Not good, both Sirius and Bellatrix have vanished into thin air, we get about nine different calls an hour from that hotline the ministry set up and every time we check their either not there or someone who looks very slightly like them is, I must say they have done very well," _Lucy grumbled, Harry almost smiled but decided not to say what he knew about the escape,

"_I know you know what happened Harry, we both do! I'm not stupid but I must say I commend you for not telling anyone, it's not an easy secret to keep and both of us know that one of them is innocent, the other we both know has changed slightly but enough said," _Lucy commented suddenly causing Harry to turn to her in shock. She knew? Of course she did! She was the one who knew he was playing outside and she had ears. Off course she did, she was one of the few Dementors who went outside the prison a lot back then and that was to look after him, off course she knew? Harry was kicking himself for not working it out.

"_You should know better than to underestimate a mother's intuition by now Harry," _Lucy scolded affectionately with a slight tone to her voice which almost resembled laughter.

"Maybe I should," Harry found himself agreeing and Lucy just shook her hooded head and the two of them dived towards Diagon Alley.

Flourish and Blots

"Harry," a high sweetly laced voice distracted Harry on his mission to find a potions book that seemed to be hiding from him. Lucy was in Gringotts just checking up on things but he had been surprised to see who had approached him. A youngish girl with long red hair whom he recognised immediately, she was taller sure but only slightly and the freckles were a dead giveaway.

"Ginny Weasley?" he remembered the name

"Yeah hi, look my brother is probably going to kill me for even talking to you but I wanted to say thanks; that diary was well we both know what it was doing and I wanted to say thanks for stopping it. Knowing Tom like we both do I think we both know that he was going to kill me," Ginny explained softly. Harry was taken aback for a moment, the girl he had seen last year was a terrified mess with a crush on him that couldn't be less evident. Now she seemed surer of herself and... Something was going on.

"It's fine, how do you know I met Tom?" Harry asked slightly intrigued

"Well you went inside the diary didn't you, or at least that's what Draco told me," Ginny answered with a smile

"What?" Harry asked immediately

"Yeah remember when he got detention for saying something to McGonagall, well I had detention the same night for skipping class and we got talking, he's funny and we've been writing to each other during the summer," Ginny explained happily as Harry's eyes and jaw got wider and wider.

"Ginny!" He heard the breaking voice of Ron Weasley suddenly and Ginny looked alarmed, her brother was an idiot at the best of times and he would be unbearable if he knew about this

"Ok see you, oh and I'm sorry for the times I was hiding behind the door when you were on the other side, I was really messed up last year, bye," Ginny spluttered before running off. Harry just gaped; Draco had been writing to her all summer had he? Well this was going to be interesting to say the least

"Oh My God," Harry chuckled, all it took was a lot of irritating sarcasm to break whatever spell Molly Weasley had put over her youngest daughter, oh he was going to have a lot of fun with this.

Meanwhile

"So where would he be?" Bella asked, she was sat on a log in the middle of a dense forest with a slowly shrinking fire between her and Sirius.

"Peter would have hidden in the most inconspicuous place, the moment Dumbledore had me imprisoned he would have ensured the little rat was well secured. Probably he's in the midst of one of his allies but I think we have a way," Sirius explained. A few weeks on the run had been better to them than all of Azkaban combined, both were eating more nutritional meats and vegetables than the practical slime everyone but Harry got in Azkaban. While their hair and nails were longer and wilder they were less hollow and the signs of malnutrition and years of being under the Dementors chill were wearing off.

"And your mentioning this now and not three miles back why?" Bellatrix asked, they were somewhere near Scarborough according to the signs, after reaching shore they had fled into the moors and were held up here.

"Because we need to get to Hogwarts," Sirius explained not looking up

"Ok, have you ever heard the term suicide?" Bellatrix asked looking sombre, Sirius shrugged.

"Look if you're going to act like Draco Malfoy then you can go the other way because sarcasm is far from productive," Sirius sighed

"Ok that wasn't sarcasm you see Hogwarts may be the worst place in the world to go right now because you know whose that guy who wants to put us in prison or kill us, that guy who you know frames people and manipulates them. I forget his name but doesn't he you know live at Hogwarts?" Bella asked her voice filled with sarcasm, Sirius just sighed and shook his head.

"I'm starting to see why Harry told us Cho always slaps Malfoy," he muttered before standing up,

"Try slapping me I dare you!" Bella warned looking fierce.

"Anyway, when we were kids me and the marauders made a map of Hogwarts that shows all of it and the people inside, if we can get hold of the map we can make the charm more powerful and use it locate Pettigrew," Sirius explained, he knew it was still there but he had no idea if term had resumed or not. He had not seen a newspaper or at least a wizarding one since he escaped and so had no idea if it was even still the holidays; he assumed it was.

"Ok, so that's operation suicide do we have any other suggestions?" Bella wondered, Sirius just glared at her.

"Fine let's go with that but I'm telling you its suicide," Bella warned again but Sirius had more than one reason for going; then again as of now so did she. Harry was obviously going to be there and if they could see him again then maybe it would be worth it if they got caught or were murdered by Dumbledore, both were very likely.


	43. Chapter 43

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 43

Summer was slowly drifting away Harry found, the day he would return to Hogwarts grew closer and closer with each passing day. Bella and Sirius had not been caught, James Potter was refusing to talk and it seemed that now the shock was over that slowly; ever so slowly the world was calming down. The frenzy it had been thrown into was dying down and Harry was relieved that he would not be the centre of attention. He was not going back to Azkaban during the summer, the place was crawling with aurors and more so Lucy had told him he would stay with the Malfoy's until it had all blown over, all of it and not whatever calm the world had drifted into now. However he had kept a watchful eye for more assassins or thugs sent after his friends but neither he nor they had found anything, maybe they had given up? It was a hope filed thought which he doubted would come to fruition.

"They're here," Draco gestured to the two girls walking over, Cho and Hermione had just arrived and all of them had decided to meet up. Crabbe and Goyle were out and Luna decided not to come. Apparently today was something important to her or her family and Harry decided not to intrude, though she seemed sad in the days leading up.

"So do you know what's up with Luna?" Draco asked they had all been surprised to find the normally insane girl acting quiet over the last couple of days

"No, I considered mind breaking in but I think it would be better if she told us in her own time," Harry answered knowing how traumatic events could affected a person, he still remembered what happened before Lucy found him and he had not discussed the details with anyone except her.

"I suppose your right," Draco sighed sounding slightly dejected, they had all wanted to help her but Harry realised the best help was giving her the space she needed. If today was something Luna associated with sadness then she should be allowed to feel how she wished.

"Any luck on the journal?" Draco asked suddenly, Harry had spent some time in the Manor library looking for any information on languages, it seemed Lily had covered her tracks well and not a single book in the possession of an old pureblood family had any idea what the symbols were.

"Hi," Harry greeted once Lucius had finished greeting the girls, it was a custom apparently for guests but it did not take long

"Hey Harry, Hey Draco," Cho and Hermione said in sync, they quickly descended into conversation about how they were and what they were and weren't looking forward to when Hogwarts came. Dumbledore was the main factor against it turned out,

"Where's Luna?" Hermione asked, Harry knew she and Cho had no idea Luna had declined an invitation.

"She's not here," Cho answered suddenly, Harry frowned; how did she know that.

"Today's the day Luna's mum died, her dad told me when me and Hermione went over, I saw a picture. She died today, she had been making a spell that backfired about ten years ago," Cho explained,

"It's a long time ago," Draco commented not unkindly but it was untactful to say the least, Draco had never lost a parent and Harry knew that you still missed them; his time at the Dursley's had taught him that much. Harry could imagine how she felt, it explained a lot about why she had been sad the last couple of days and hopefully after today she would feel better. It was a vain hope in some ways but a hope none the less.

"It was her mum Draco," Cho scorned but she decided to cut him some slack. She realised he meant no malice by it, it was just a lack of understanding.

"So any update on the breakout?" Hermione wondered wanting to change the subject, she could sense upcoming tension. It was a good distraction seeing as Harry could understand Dementor talk and as there were so many around it was easy to work out what was going on. The press claimed the ministry was closing in but in reality they were getting further and further away from the suspects and despite all the sightings they had not found much. Their only lead was the sighing of Bellatrix by a man who claimed she attacked him, something Harry doubted judging by how much fame he was seeking from the account.

"Not really, I think a few Dementors are going to stop them getting near Hogwarts but I don't think it's going to work," Harry confessed knowing how Dementors sensed animals.

"Why?" Draco asked and Harry cursed as he realised he had given away that he knew something about how they escaped.

"They got out of Azkaban with hundreds of Dementors, If they can get past them they can past anything," Harry explained quickly, the explanation seemed to settle Draco and Hermione but he was sure he caught a flicker of disbelief in Cho's eyes but she did not question further.

"Ah well, if we wanted to worry about a murderer we could focus on the people who want to kill us," Draco pointed out, unease quickly spread through the group. Telling Harry that all of them had indeed been on the lookout for assassins,

"I've been watching my mum cook," Hermione mumbled

"And I bought a new lock," Cho announced.

"And I have a flying lunatic who can sense assassins," Draco smiled, Harry shot him an exasperated glare,

"Yeah well unless Harry clones himself or start's talking shifts we can't all have one," Cho remarked

"Not a bad idea," Draco muttered aloud "We could sell this as a protection to people,"

"Yeah we only have one and there may or may not be a law or two about selling people," Hermione pointed out and Harry didn't know whether or not to feel insulted that they were talking about selling him or thankful they were considering him as valued security. He decided with neither in the end.

"You also have a girl you keep writing to," Harry commented remembering his conversation with Ginny the other day

"What?" Hermione asked sharply

"Oh dear," Draco commented realising what Harry knew and what he was suggesting

"What's going on? Do you have a girlfriend Draco?" Cho asked with an inquisitive tone and a slight smile

"NO!" Draco defended, Cho burst into giggles at this point and Draco just glared at Harry.

"Cho hits me, Hermione slaps me, Luna poisons me and now you're revealing things about me? Dear God what do Crabbe and Goyle have planned?" he asked himself

"Excessive mauling, they are bears," Hermione suggested lightly.

"Ok let's play a game, let's turn into our animal forms and find out who guests mauled first, reminder I happen to be a fox," Draco pointed out

"Better idea you turn into a fox and I make you into a scarf," Cho suggested in what Harry hoped was a joking way.

Kings Cross Station

"Out of interest do we have a new defence against the dark arts teacher this year? Because the last two have died in two us related situations," Draco wondered aloud thinking of Quirell and Lockhart

"Ok how about this year we try to not kill the teacher," Hermione suggested in all seriousness

"How does it get to the point where instead of agreeing not to get in trouble we agree to not try and kill teachers, how does it get to this point?" Cho demanded as the six of them approached the entrance to kings cross, their parents were behind well all of them except Lucy. She had been trying to get a chance to come and see Harry but she had been sent to northern France to scout the area and reluctantly she had asked the Malfoy's to do it instead. Suffice to say Harry was being quieter than normal, he felt strange inside. His last years at Hogwarts had always started with Lucy taking him to the station and seeing him off but without her it just felt odd,

"It isn't entirely normal," he commented wanting to still be involved in the conversation, he didn't know how to feel; it just seemed this summer had not been for him with the escape, a terrible assassination attempt and Lucy being called away. She had to work but it was a pity she couldn't be here.

"Anyway Draco does have a point, I mean Lockhart was eaten by a monster so I doubt it does much for advertising," Hermione pointed out

"We need to be on the lookout, our new teacher could be a woozle! They could be disguising themselves so they can take over Hogwarts and make us work in the honey industry," Luna warned looking genuinely concerned; she had perked up a bit now. The pain associated with the day her mother died had gone now but Harry knew better than anyone it would come back, however he was certain she was making these comments just to annoy Hermione.

"Luna I'm sure our new teacher will be a human," Hermione announced, Harry smirked and like always the group fell silent when they spoke, it was a spectacle to be observed and it was funny. Cho was trying to hide a smile, Crabbe and Goyle were openly chortling and Draco was just looking afar.

"That's what they want you to think," Luna announced darkly.

"Look while watching you two is funnier than walking into a wall we have a wall that needs walking into," Harry commented pointing to the entrance to platform nine and three quarters.

"Ok Harry can we leave the witty comments to me," Draco requested aloud

"I suppose no one making them is out of the question," Cho asked almost desperately; she got no answer.

The train 

"How the hell can everywhere be full?" Draco asked sounding quite annoyed; once they had all got on the train it seemed every compartment was full.

"Are they shrinking the train?" Hermione wondered looking through the glass at packed compartments; the train did seem to be smaller than usual.

"If they wanted to make some changes to the school the train is not what I would pick, I would focus on the corrupt headmaster, the mental cases hired as teachers, the monsters literally living under our feet and the electric sadists walking the halls," Draco countered referencing the various things that had happened to them over the last two years; which was seriously saying something about how this one would turn out.

"What kind of school do we go to?" Crabbe questioned listening to Draco's comments for once

"The only one where you can go in each year and it's an achievement to come out alive," Draco answered.

"Here's one," Goyle pointed out

"There's someone in it, someone who looks too old to be a student," Hermione pointed out looking at a man in patched clothing with raggedy hair fast asleep on the seat.

"I have a policy of not going into enclosed spaces with older men," Draco announced and in response Harry pushed him in, the man was asleep after all and if he wanted them to move they could do so later.

"Maybe he's the new teacher," Harry commented studying the man for a few seconds

"See I told you he'd be a woozle, he's all thin and wearing clothing stitched together by paws," Luna announced, Hermione flushed a shade of red but instead of retorting she took a deep breath and settled down.

"No, nothing... a miracle ladies and gentleman Hermione Granger does not respond to something Luna Lovegood said!" Draco proclaimed in mock amazement

"Draco I don't care if a teacher is here, I will punch you!" Hermione warned

"Odds are he'd join in," Cho conceded.

"Hey I'm not that unlikable," Draco protested, he was met by silence from the others.


	44. Chapter 44

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 44

"Professor Lupin," Hermione deduced mid journey by looking closely at his suitcase,

"Keeping the conversation alive then?" Draco mock queried dryly, it was the midpoint of the journey and many topics had already been exhausted by the group. By topics the group really meant Luna and Hermione had ceased arguing and making them all laugh,

"So with a breakout, assassin and the rest have we exhausted ourselves for school? Or will something more destructive happen this year?" Draco inquired making a very similar comment to one he made earlier.

"Depends does castration count as destructive?" Cho asked sweetly staring at him in a way that made the blond haired boy shudder.  
"To me yes," Draco answered not sure if it was the right answer or not

"Then keep making comments and yes there will be a more destructive force at work this year," Cho told him with a sly grin.

"Well I'm dead," Draco summarised seemingly calmly which was strange to all the boys, then again it was Draco so who knows what was going on in his mind.

"Do you feel cold" Hermione asked suddenly looking at the others, Harry nodded he did feel colder. He didn't feel the cold that much but he was slightly cooler, maybe something was going on? Maybe Fred and George had done something

"Ice people," Luna tutted loudly,

"Don't!" Harry ordered Hermione, who had opened her mouth to speak, he had heard enough of their interaction for one day. Then in one long jerky movement the train came to a stop, it was very rough but that wasn't the strangest thing.

"The window!" Cho pointed confused, it was slowly icing up and while the air did not feel cold enough; for it was only slightly chilly it did not seem able to make ice. Then there was a slight yelping noise from afar.  
"What's that?" Harry queried confused, he did not see why people would be afraid or worried it was only a bit of cold.

"Oh great we're in trouble before we even get to school," Draco sighed getting up and stretching,

"Well seeing as so many of our adventures start with us opening a door we think has a monster behind it, I'm going to cut a year's worth of investigation out and open the door, at least this time it's convenient," he announced walking over to the door. Then he opened it and looked down the hall, suddenly he felt colder and wanted to be back in the compartment.

"Nothing," he announced turning his head ; to be confronted with a hooded creature that was speeding towards him, he jumped back with a high pitched scream.

"What is it?" Hermione asked alarmed but as Harry got up he smiled, he should have figured it out. The cold came from a very specific creature and the group couldn't feel much of it because he was there. Same with the aura which had not manifested itself in them

"Draco you wimp," He scolded opening the door wider to allow the Dementor to come through

"Hey Dora," Harry greeted his Dementor god mother who he had spent a lot of time with, she was Lucy's best friend and whenever she worked he used to talk to her.

"_Harry! I was hoping I would meet you here," _she greeted looking at him while Draco went red,

"In my defence I thought she was the maniac," he grumbled as the group stifled sniggers.

"What you doing here?" Harry asked suddenly wondering why a Dementor would arrive on a school train

"_Oh we're on the Hogwarts security team, Lucy sends her regards and she should be home for Christmas, the lead she's followed has lead from London to Paris and then to Wales," _ Dora explained in a tone that clearly said she thought it was some kind of wild goose chase. Dementors had to follow orders though

"Is anyone wondering what they're saying?" Draco whispered to the group

"All of us but only one of us speaks Dementor," Hermione pointed out, Draco shrugged.

"We? Who else is here?" he asked

"_Vera," _Dora shuddered and Harry did to, she was the equivalent of a woman who never stops gossiping, she had dirt on everyone it seemed; who was hoping to breed, who was mistreating prisoners and the rest of it. She wasn't overly liked in the prison but she was useful.

"Well you enjoy that," Harry commented and Draco grinned at the sarcasm.

"Are they gossiping about other Dementors?" Hermione wondered

"Yes," Draco confirmed, suddenly a hand was on his back and he turned to see Professor Lupin with his wand out

"_I will do, see you Harry,_" Dora waved before turning away

"Ok bye," Harry waved her off and turned back to his friends and a teacher, only one person was actually shocked or worried about what they had seen.

"What in God's name was that?" the man questioned having never seen anything like this before, Harry had to hand it to him; it wasn't an everyday occurrence.

"That was his Godmother," Draco beat Harry to the punch in this case and grinned as the man paled

"You can talk to Dementors?" he questioned and the group groaned as a whole.

"It's a long story," Goyle supplied not wanting to hear the explanation again, they had heard it and it was not something they discussed often. Despite a lot of people commenting on it, however before he could begin any kind of explanation a scream was heard. A familiar red haired boy was running down the train,

"It's going to get me," he blubbered with tears s pricking in his eyes,

"Crap," Harry murmured realising Ron Weasley had annoyed the most hot tempered, vengeful Dementor he had ever met. Lupin acted on instinct. He had seen a lot of strange things already but as a teacher he was supposed to help his students.

"_Expecto Patronum," _he declared firmly and all Harry saw was a shining white light however Vera flew off immediately. The spell however focused on Harry, turning and flying into him, a few years ago he would have been fine as his outer self dominated his inner one but over the years his inner self had grown in strength with his powers. The light forced him back and his inner self writhed, it could not get away from the spell that would see it destroyed, Harry grunted in pain that made what he faced in the chamber seem minor.

"Harry," he heard Lupin call,

"Are you ok?" he heard Cho's voice slowed to a snail's pace and the pain began to ease, the spell was going as Lupin cut it off, then in a few seconds he was fine.

"What the hell was that," Draco demanded and thinking his friend had been assaulted he drew his wand on Lupin. Crabbe and Goye followed while Hermione and Cho tended to their friend.

"Stop," Harry breathed suddenly sucking in air greedily "It's not his fault," gingerly his friends lowered their wands.

"What happened?"Lupin demanded looking panicked,

"Don't use that spell," Harry barked, evidently this man was a powerful wizard, most patronuses would do nothing more than unnerve him but this one was more powerful. This man knew his stuff.

"Why did it affect you?" Lupin asked having no knowledge on Harry. He waited until Harry had regained his breath and was less shaky.

"Your spell looked for a Dementor and the closest thing it found was me," Harry slowly began to explain, that was painful but it also revealed a lot to him. His inner self was becoming more powerful, it had come to a point where only a spell of pure light could wound it. It being more powerful was concerning and Harry knew it was clever, now it had tasted a patronus it would learn from it.

"You're a Dementor?" Lupin questioned looking shocked, Harry sighed

"In a sense yes," he answered wanting to get this over with as soon as possible.

"In a sense? What do you mean?" Lupin wondered aloud as the rest of the group sat down, they knew the answer after all but they weren't the ones explaining it.

"I have some Dementor powers, I have for a long time, your patronus reacted with inner me badly," Harry simplified not wanting to go into what Aragog had told him or the likes.

"Inner you?" Lupin was confused he had never seen anything like this before, nor heard of it.

"The natural part of me who currently wants to eat you and every other person in the world, he doesn't get out much," Harry told the man quickly getting up, he was feeling fine now. However he was slightly irritated at having to explain himself to this man however he seemed nice enough and he had seen two unusual things tonight. However as he regained himself not a single person noticed the red headed boy who had seen and heard everything.

Later

They had arrived at Hogwarts by the time Lupin had stopped asking questions and while at first he seemed odd the patchy evidently poor man seemed interesting. He had a lot of stories about his days at Hogwarts and what he and someone else got up too; he never mentioned the names though of his old friends. That was slightly odd but everyone seemed to get on with him after a while. What Harry did find odd was the lack of judgement; his friends had liked him before finding out about him and he had saved their lives but this man had little knowledge of him as a person. So why did he warm to him? Harry wondered if this man had a secret too, but it was a fleeting thought, he was worried about his inner self who was growing in strength. Only a powerful patronus could catch it off guard and he worried that one day it would too powerful for him, however he could not worry too much about this; it was the one thing he could not help.

"Well it was nice meeting you but I think you need to change into your robes and I need to have a quick word with the driver," he announced calmly before sweeping out of the room. He had offered everyone chocolate beforehand but he found no one in this compartment had been affected by the Dementor, he knew the reason.

"Anyone know why we told him all that?" Draco asked aloud suddenly once the man had gone

"Because he saw me talking to Dora which could have been explained but the patronus would have harder to explain," Harry supplied the answer

"So you don't think he's part of the people trying to kill us?" Draco wondered, Harry shook his head he had wondered the same thing.

"No he would have dug a lot deeper into me, he would have asked the extent of power and weaknesses of it if that was the case, and no I'm not sure I think he was just interested. I doubt anyone would believe him anyway except maybe Fudge and the others, "Harry murmured.

"Why?" Crabbe asked aloud

"Because the idea of the famous Harry Potter being part Dementor is terrifying to them, most people like to think that there is us and them, them being dark creatures. The idea of them mixing would probably end badly," Cho answered knowing the wizarding world all too well.

"People are morons," Luna simplified cheerfully.

"So that spell he used? Can we learn it?" Draco wondered suddenly

"Are you trying to kill me?" Harry asked darkly

"Maybe," Draco commented and even Harry had to laugh at that.

"You could learn it but it takes a lot of energy to incapacitate inner me, a patronus is made of good emotions; Love being the strongest. That's what knocks him out, you have to be really powerful or be in love to produce something like that," Harry explained in a tone that told Draco he may just die for asking that question. Harry saw a smirk on Draco's face grow

"Hang in our first year wasn't it our very own Miss Chang who really kicked you out of that?" he asked lowly; luckily in the light of the compartment and the night it was hard to make out both Harry and Cho's cheeks burning red.


	45. Chapter 45

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 45

**Well it's time to find out a secret I have been foreshadowing for over twenty chapters. **

The hall as normal was packed out and people were catching up; chatting and devouring the excessive amount of food on display; all the normal things people do at the start of term. However Harry noticed a few Gryffindors looking his way warily, maybe they thought he was connected to Dora arriving; maybe not. Most had been too interested in the sorting ceremony and Harry saw a lot of students had gone into Gryffindor this year; a lot more than last year or the year before. However it was not a huge thing to concentrate on and as the teachers sat down he noticed Dumbledore prepare to speak. The man threw a look at Harry which he didn't know if it was threatening or something else, he seemed almost worried in his eyes.

"Settle down, settle down," Dumbledore rose intending to give his speech as usual, he gave it a few seconds before everyone did indeed quiet down. The food that had made up the feast vanished into thin air once more and Draco looked slightly annoyed as his spoonful of ice cream disappeared on route to his mouth.

"Now welcome to another term at Hogwarts, now I'm going to address the most important issue straight away as many of you found out on the train this year we are being joined by the Dementors of Azkaban. Now while no Dementor will enter this castle while I am headmaster,"

"Pretty sure that's incorrect and racist," Draco commented not loudly enough for him to hear

"They will be on the grounds in order to offer protection from Sirius Black who I hope will come nowhere near this castle, I would like to remind you that you should treat Dementors with respect, they are creatures who are not forgiving when you cross them," Dumbledore warned.

"Pretty sure he's right about that, Cho do you have any Dementor in you? You don't forgive much either," Draco pointed out, Harry glared at him and Cho punched him on the arm.

"Point proven," Draco sighed,

"Now while we are joined by the Dementors I would like to remind everyone that the forbidden forest is off limits to _everybody_ and if you pass a Dementor then you are reminded not to tempt it," Dumbledore continued looking grim; he obviously did not want Dementors around the castle and even more so now. He knew they were a threat now, indeed he did and he looked at Harry who looked impassively back; this year the ball was in his court so to speak with a small army of his family just outside.

The next day

"A boggart is a creature that takes upon the identity of your darkest fear, it uses your own mind to frighten you away from whatever object is has taken refuge in, now after much effort on my behalf I managed to find one in the castle and Mr Filch was happy to get rid of it," Lupin began giving his starting speech to the class, this was the first Defence against the Dark Arts lesson of the year and Harry was eager to begin this one. He noticed a lot of people shift away from him as Lupin began; Hermione was next to him and seemed confused at not having to take her books out. Draco looked curious more than anything as the wardrobe started to shake,

"Ahh Draco Malfoy lovely of you to volunteer," Lupin nodded towards the boy who was the only person stood forward, Draco sighed inwardly when he realised. However he walked forward,

"Now the spell you will need this lesson is _Riddikulus, _the only thing that can combat a Boggart is laughter now Draco what I want you to do is picture what you fear the most and make it humorous," Lupin explained, Draco suddenly looked worried. Having his darkest fear exposed to him was not something he wanted to see nor wanted anyone else to see,

"How much would you bet it's an angry Cho?" Hermione whispered to Harry who smiled, that would indeed be funny but Harry suspected it was something else. Harry saw Draco consider for a few long seconds, then he walked forward and the wardrobe door sprung open; out came a figure dressed in black; Harry recognised it immediately and gaped as Draco drew his wand,

"_Riddikulus!" _Draco declared and the black robes became spotted pink and the figure was on roller skates, it tripped and there was a slight laugh as it struggled; Harry turned to Hermione who looked worried, terrified even.

"If Dumbledore hears about this," she murmured; Harry had only met the figure once and Dumbledore would have been sure in the knowledge they knew nothing. However if he heard about this then he would know the group knew a lot more than they were letting on.

"We're screwed," Harry summarised feeling the same, one by one people came up and Draco walked back; he realised what had been done and Harry looked at him. It wasn't his fault but it was still bad, however slowly it became Harry's turn. Harry could not think of what his darkest fear was, he didn't even know if the Boggart could enter his mind but Lupin seemed interested; obviously he was thinking along the same line. So he stepped forward towards the shaking wardrobe which paused, it seemed to consider what it would take the form of and Harry felt something flicker in his head. The Boggart was trying to get in and then it withdrew, the door opened and out came; Harry.

"Me?" Harry was caught off guard wondering why he was his own biggest fear, however as he came forward differences started to form, black eyes, a dark tinge to the skin and blackened veins.

"_The mystery is over for you," _the duplicate said in a voice that Harry knew, a voice that had taunted him not long ago. A voice that caused Draco's eyes to widen in fear. This was impossible surely, how could it but no, suddenly pieces were coming together, the Boggart had not taken a form, Harry's inner self had taken the Boggart's form. Then Harry's wand moved at impossible speed

"_Riddikulus!" _he bellowed praying this would be enough; indeed it was and Harry's duplicate vanished, the wardrobe housing the Boggarts suddenly shattered like glass and then with wooden pieces littering the floor Harry turned and stormed out of the classroom.

Later

"What happened?" Dumbledore asked Lupin who was sat opposite his desk; he had brought worrying news to his attention.

"A dark version of Harry I think walked out of the Boggart, but it spoke to him like it was personal," Lupin explained; this was supposed to be impossible for a Boggart; to make a personal connection in ways other than fear.

"I see, do we know what it was supposed to represent?" Dumbledore asked trying to sound calm, he was worried about this; it was a very unusual development for a very unusual boy. However he knew what this was, Dumbledore had more and more knowledge on Harry Potter now because his partner had "just" worked more out. He did not trust the person; they had known each other for many years. Dumbledore had been planning for Harry to be the one to defeat Voldemort from day one; siphoning powers into the family of Lily and then onwards, however the day that monster came into his life was both a blessing and a curse. With it cam agents including James Potter along a new look to the plan which was fast expanding , it was coming to fruition but Dumbledore suspected that he was being kept in the dark about certain details. However with the good came the bad, the secrets, the deception, the murders, the spying and extending his power base. He did not want power he wanted Voldemort gone nothing more, however he would do it any way he could.

"I don't know, all I know is Harry attacked it with a normal spell which destroyed the Boggart completely, that should be nearly impossible by itself, he learned the spell only today," Lupin continued looking worried.

"I know but with Harry a lot of very curious and very strange things happen, he has very odd powers I'm sure you've heard and I have heard rumours that he spoke to a Dementor on the train, something that I'm sure is impossible without a translator," Dumbledore continued, he wanted an answer because he knew this teacher had been with Harry when the Dementors arrived.

"I saw him," Lupin confirmed but he decided to keep some of the information secret

"He can do it then? Amazing I wonder just how something like that could be done, it's incredible," Dumbledore announced seeming shocked but he knew some of this already; he had hoped for more but the wolf seemed unable to help. A shame he had been brought in to win Harry's trust and now it seemed like Harry would not tell him much about his powers. A shame but the werewolf knew nothing which proved to Dumbledore not telling him was a very good choice.

Meanwhile 

To Harry everything now made sense, perfect sense even and he walked through the maze which was the chamber of secrets, he knew the Basilisk was asleep but that was not the reason he had chosen to come here. He now knew a lot more, he just didn't understand it. This was impossible surely but yet everything was slotting into place,

"_Open," _Harry ordered the door in Parsletounge, and he waited a few agonizingly long seconds, every instinct he had was telling him to turn back now, this was the place where he had been attacked and with the Basilisk dormant he would be alone. However his desire for the truth pushed him forward, so he walked back into the chamber, the bust of Salazar Slytherin was impeccable; no sign of it ever being destroyed and yet Harry could remember the rubble, the destruction as the great snake burst from it.

"_You came back," _a hoarse croaky voice chuckled and Harry now knew who it was; something that had been with him his entire life and yet somehow predated him; he did not know how or why but he was here to find out.

"You know why, tell me how is this possible, how are you here?" Harry demanded, this explained everything and yet at the same time it opened a thousand more questions.

"_The existed long before you, a creature that had been made to create a person who would be a hero, a power that took a life of its own and split off, a power that existed within you and yet I am infinitely more powerful, I am a part of more than just you, I am the darkness, I am hate, I am everything," _the voice hissed insanely and Harry turned. Behind him was a figure in black robes, the same one Draco had seen in the Boggart, his own and Draco's had let him here and without attacking his enemy walked forward.

"You were created by Dumbledore or his parents or even Grandparents, the power that he tried to use to stop evil became evil, in fact in became something else, you split that's me isn't it," Harry looked at the figure with hate, his inner self had revealed it all, so Harry knew why this monster was taunting him so, it had no gender, it had no form, it was leech, a parasite that existed within trying to take hold. A parasite that was a force, a force that existed within Harry. So he watched as claw like hands moved up to the monster's face and pull the hood down, Harry recoiled as burned rotted flesh came into view, empty eye sockets and tuffs of what was once thick red hair. A rotted corpse of a body, one that had belonged to his mother, but this person was not his mother; it was wearing her like a cheap suit. It needed a body to survive, the power that had been impregnated into the Evans family had grown, mutated; mutated until it was no longer a power but a being. A being which existed inside him as well, so he stared into burning emerald-green lights inside the eye sockets.

"You're me," Harry sighed with wide almost scared eyes.

"No Harry Potter, you are me," the figure corrected with a venomous smile that looked horrific on dead lips.


	46. Chapter 46

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 46

Harry stared at the monster claiming to be his counterpart with pure contempt; after three years this was the thing that had led him to the stone, into the chamber, tried to frame him and kill his friends. He knew he would be outmatched in a fight but something told him to stand his ground

"I'm you?" he questioned not wanting to have to accept it was true, a sickening smile crossed Lily Potter's lips

"Yes, as was your mother and your grandparents, over the years I grew strong and I existed as a mental image in the foolish minds of the humans I manipulated, Dumbledore among them. However when your mother died I had a body, a body that was real but as you can see in recent years I have been forced to hide my appearance, the killing curse worked on the body but not me," the creature explained putting its hood up, the shock had worn off now.

"So James Potter," Harry queried wondering how he survived Voldemort who he doubted was involved with the figure.

"He was instructed to wear a heavy reflective metal over his chest, he then took a pill of my design to make him sleep and since he has been my personal agent, I must thank you he had outworn his usefulness," the figure commented with a dark smirk.

"So what do you want with me?" Harry asked; he needed to know what was to come

"That is a question that I have many answers to, part of me is inside you; your dark self which has been fighting you for power and it thinks I am here to liberate it, consider it my offspring, however I do not need another one of me, I need you Harry Potter," the figure answered and Harry frowned. He was confused

"Over the last few years my attempts to manipulate, mould and control you, have been beaten back, not just your fault; allying with humans is a risk in itself. However I seem to have reached an impasse; so I decided to test you, I sent James Potter to kill your friends; if it had worked then you would have been under my control however as we both know it did not. I see you now as something else; you are like me, well you are me but at the same time you are still holding onto human elements. Elements I do not want to understand, elements that stand in the way of you being something more; one of the reasons I thought your friends should die but you are too protective of them," the creature continued and Harry could sense a smile behind its hood.

"Well I've kept them away from you." Harry growled

"I know, one of the many traits that make you inferior to my magnificence, however I must remind you that you are not human despite what you think, my influence thanks to the Dementor has been extended in powers I do not have. Your mental powers are something to be admired and your flight is interesting, you shooting energy waves even more so, however with them a Dementor's darkness has manifested itself in you, your dark side. If it grew then it would be an equal, uncaring, malevolent and only wanting to sustain itself," the monster continued with something in its voice; something Harry did not recognise.

"It sounds like something you would want," Harry hissed

"No, something like that would be an equal and too powerful; it could not be controlled and already it is clever, with a few words it helped you work out my mystery and send you down here, it hoped I would free it but do not want it free!" it spat with what Harry realised was worry.

"But it's you," Harry pointed out

"No, the power I am has personality taken from all my previous hosts, I always existed in them and I took things with me, think of us as Father and Son. I created you in a sense, the power infused in you may have the same genetic code but it does not have my personality; my knowledge or attributes; if it was free then it would be the end; you know this to," the figure commented.

"So you're supposed to be my father? I never thought I'd say this but I'll take James Potter," Harry hissed not wanting to even think of what it had said.

"You have no choice, without me you would not be you, no you would be some child wriggling in the dirt to please an old man who wants you as a martyr, without me you would have no powers and you would be defenceless; I lived inside her and I controlled inner functions, I could have killed you but I spared you," the figure informed Harry with an air or superiority.

"So you could control me," Harry retorted, this creature had nerve even insinuating Harry owed his life to it,

"My original intention was for the power in you to only show itself when it was needed, moments of fear or need such as when you killed the dark lord, my hope was this power could create a hero, a hero who would die and yet be remembered and something I could use to control people. However my intention did not work; it almost did if not for your Dementor, but I must say you are a hero and unlike Dumbledore I know the original plan is worthless," the creature then looked at Harry in a more direct manner. Harry understood now, the Basilisk had told him that this thing had once been good but it was not referring to it, the snake had been refereeing to Lily; she wanted to change the world and make it better and then the creature had taken over. She was doing well and then four words, four words in Snake tongue and two words in Human; Avada Kedavra. Corruption that had been the very power she was trying to understand and now there was no Lily, the monster was not her.

"Well that's something of a relief," Harry mumbled aloud not realising whom he was addressing.

"Dumbledore will still try, now instead I have a proposition for you," the figure told Harry thinking he was talking to it; its voice changing slightly,

"What do you mean?" Harry demanded wondering what this creature could offer him

"Now James Potter is currently sitting in Azkaban and I am sure is being treated to whatever delights your Dementor can come up with and I find myself thinking what do you want? It is hard to control you and I think unlike Dumbledore I will not try, instead I will offer you a chance to see things from my point of view," the figure continued in a sincere voice.

"Never," Harry spat long before it could continue; this was the thing he hated beyond anything; there was no way he would help it.

"Silence, jumping to an answer is very human; not worthy of us, well of me but one day you could me more. However there is someone inside this castle, someone my esteem companion refuses to tell me anything about. He seems to have realised our relationship is strained, strained to a point where soon it will break; we have argued about this and you. Now Peter Pettigrew," the last three words were all Harry heard and he remembered what Sirius had said.

"Ahh I have your attention," the figure chuckled in a wispy infuriating voice

"Now we both know he is a rat, an animagus much like you; yes I know. However I know he is in the castle, I don't know where," the figure explained with a contemptuous sneer towards Dumbledore. He had become something of an annoyance, he was once more subservient and yet now he was becoming something more. It was annoying.

"So we're looking for a rat in the castle?" Harry asked

"Indeed, both of us and working apart seems foolish; foolish to a point where it would give the rat time to escape, Dumbledore wants this despite what he says. So I propose an alliance, a secret one to give us time to find the rat, it is a chance to see things from my perspective and we both could use each other. My resources and power matched with you mental ones are something that would be formidable, then you can see the world from my point of view, a view that could mean you become something more," the figure requested finally.

"And if I accept and it doesn't end up that way?" Harry demanded wanting to ensure the figure would not stab him in the back; metaphorically and literally as well.

"Then we go back to being enemies; I go back to working with my human servants and you go back to your _friends_, eventually however you will become too big to ignore and I will have to destroy you," the figure answered with some venom in its voice.

"Think about it now, if you don't accept then we both try to find Pettigrew, Dumbledore is doing the same but he knows more not much more but he has the advantage nevertheless, so we work together and we both learn, I created you, your powers come from me and despite my original intention you are no longer human, whatever genetic information Lily passed onto you has been changed by your powers and inner self. Instead of the weak controlled boy I had envisioned I see a much stronger more powerful one," it seemed like the figure was trying to compliment him something Harry found strange.

"So your jut hoping we go from mortal enemies to some kind of father and son?" Harry spat

"Off course not, we are not humans and we do not see each other parentally, I was stating how humans would see us if we we're them; we are not, if you were supposed to be a son I would not have thrown to the Dursleys, however that boy, the one I hoped to see only existed for eight years if that. Now you're you, I think you could become my equal and the kind I know you dark self to be, so make your choice now," the figure demanded coolly.

"Fine, just until we get Pettigrew," Harry decided realising the rat was responsible for the years Sirius suffered in Azkaban, everything that had happened to him was the rat's fault.

"Good, now I shall be in contact; I am not sure where to start but I will let you know," the figure nodded before vanishing into the air.

Later

"What happened to you?" Draco demanded the moment he saw Harry, all six of them had been looking for him all day and the teachers of the classes they skipped were going to kill them. Cho and Hermione hugged Harry

"Sorry, it's just," Harry began intending to explain

"Yeah we know your dark thing was talking through the Bogart and you killed it," Cho summarised,

Harry looked surprised but saw a chance,

"Yeah well I thought that was a sign of it about to break free so I went down into the chamber of secrets, I was worried that we'd get a repeat of last time," Harry explained. Draco looked suddenly more relaxed

"Ahh, makes sense I mean people almost died," he soothed without a comment or sarcasm.

"I thought you could control it?" Hermione pointed out

"Not any more, the only thing that got me out of it last time was you three, I don't know if you remember that," Harry asked wondering if they did, all three girls frowned. Their actions had been done in a deep sleep after all.

"Well, sounds like you had a rough day but I've got some bad news, someone has just put posters up giving a detailed account of what happened on the train," Draco gulped and Harry looked alert; him talking to Dora? That was not something he wanted out there, however as he followed Draco he didn't realise Cho was staring at him. She knew something was up, she didn't believe that story; Harry wouldn't run off over that, he wouldn't go down there! She knew that because she did remember what she said in his mind, vaguely but she did; Harry would have tried to soothe his dark self through his friends; only something very powerful could have convinced him to run off. Besides Draco told her what his inner self had said, _we both know what this means. _Surely his inner self wouldn't be stupid enough to announce its arrival. No so as she followed she was getting a sense that Harry was not telling the truth.


	47. Chapter 47

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 47

**Thanks one again for reading, don't forget to review it means a lot and I was going to ask if anyone can guess whose Harry's biological father is, the figure is his spiritual one to an extent so who is the real one? **

**Apple**

"Ah Harry I wanted to talk to you about yesterday," Lupin began calmly after inviting Harry into his office, Harry knew it would come but his mind was swimming still with he now knew.

"Yes sir, I'm sorry about attacking that Boggart, when I came out of it, well it represents a person I was a long time ago and I would rather not revisit the period," Harry began to explain hoping to play on the man's emotions.

"What do you mean?" Lupin asked wondering how a child could be so complex

"When I lived with my uncle they told me I was to blame for what happened to my parents and at muggle school and in general I was a very nasty person," Harry lied, Lupin looked shocked.

"They told you that? They told you Jam... Lily died for you?" he corrected himself obviously angry. confused and empathetic.

"Yeah and they told me it and a lot and I fear that I'm going to turn into that person again," Harry answered still lying but it was working; he felt slightly guilty over it but he had no choice; that or he had to explain why a dark version of him was chatting.

"Well I can tell you were not responsible for Lily's death," Lupin affirmed with slight revulsion

"You knew my mother professor?" Harry was shocked, he had no idea nor did he know how the man would react if he knew that her corpse was walking around with a being inside it .

"Yes a long time ago, she and I used to be good friends, James to but I had no idea he would become something like that," Lupin finished the sentence angrily looking repulsed before looking apologetically back to Harry. He was feeling more and more guilty but it was solving a purpose; or so he supposed.

"Well thank you for coming in Harry and I hope you have a pleasant day, if you need to talk to someone about any of this please talk to me," Lupin requested and Harry detected something in his voice, something he did not recognise. However with greater things on his mind he decided to leave

"Thank you professor, now I had better be going,"

Meanwhile

"Are you ok Cho?" Hermione asked as the two walked along the corridor, Cho had seemed quiet today which was unlike her, she had only hit Draco a handful of times and he had made some comments she hadn't even noticed.

"Not really, look yesterday Harry lied about what he did, we both think it but I don't think he went out to soothe his inner self, I think he found something out and needed to do something, I just don't know what," Cho answered looking stressed.

"Why do you think that?" Hermione wondered with a frown, she had suspected herself but she had believed herself to be the only one.

"I just don't buy it, did he seem worried to you when he left class yesterday?" Cho asked

"No he looked more angry or surprised," Hermione confessed remembering him attack the boggart and run out,

"Exactly, what his other self in the boggart meant something by _we both know what this means, _I mean running to the chamber is not what Harry would do because last time he was alone and transformed it was mental power from all of us did he get out of it, I just think he wants us to think something," Cho continued

"Why? We know about him so why would he keep something else from us? I thought there were no secrets between us all," Hermione asked

"Everyone has secrets Hermione, but I think Harry is trying to keep us safe or ignorant," Cho informed her looking slightly guilty. Both of them felt as if they were betraying Harry in some way talking like this, questioning him and what he was doing.

Draco

"Crabbe if you want to see what two girls are going alone in a hall then there is little thing called the internet in the muggle world you may want to look at," Draco began as Crabbe led him. For some reason he had decided to spy on the girls, a reason Draco thought would not announce itself until he was sixteen, however Crabbe said it was important.

"Ha ha," Crabbe muttered before stopping, his hand knocked into Draco's chest,

"Owww," was his curt response as he heard whispering from the other side of the hall, it was Hermione and Cho

"Maybe we should ask him?" Hermione was suggesting,

"No we can't let anyone know what we've found out, at least he keeps out of our brains but we don't to upset or alert anyone," Cho continued. Draco frowned, he only knew one person who could get into brains but why would they keep something from Harry, if they were worried surely it was the best thing to do.

"What about Draco should we ask him?" Hermione wondered knowing how close Harry and Draco were

"No, we can't just in case we're right, because Draco would tell him and if it is nothing then it might hurt us all," Cho was saying and there was a nervous edge to her voice.

"I know but I feel guilty, I feel like I'm betraying someone," Hermione confessed, Draco frowned

"I know but we need to find out, I mean if something's going on then we need to find out what it is, or he might end up hurt or worse," Cho continued soothingly.

"I know, but I don't want it to be as if we're stabbing him in the back," Hermione sighed looking obviously worried.

"It won't, I'm sure it'll be over before he even knows it," Cho confirmed with a slight smile, then the two of them reached the end of the corridor, pushed open the door and left.

"Ok, I think we can all agree something weird is going on," Draco announced the moment they were out of sight and he counted to ensure they were also out of earshot.

"Agreed," Goyle mumbled

"Should we tell Harry about that?" Crabbe wondered not liking that they were doing something in secret

"Well they might have been talking about him," Goyle pointed out

"Dumbledore can also get into brains," Draco suggested

"Why would they be talking to him?" Crabbe questioned and Draco had no answer

"Well as much as I would like to say little girls and creepy old men are a good mix I know that's not true, so whoever they were talking about it could end badly so we need to consider," Draco sighed.

"I think we should, then we can find out what it is and you now find out together at least then we won't have big secrets or conspiracies between us," Crabbe announced

"What if it's something good? They're planning a surprise or something and we both ruin it and our friendship" Goyle warned

"Both good points but I have to agree with Goyle," Draco decided "Look we don't know what they're doing, they could be planning a party, not likely but it's possible and if we shout about it then we could end getting torn apart, us the guys who faced Voldemort and most of us slept through a basilisk eating an evil guy. We're connected through animal Wi-Fi which they can't use for a while I suppose seeing as we'd know any way we need to keep it quiet. So we're going to find out what they're doing,"

"Are you sure? I mean investigating them while they're investigating..." Goyle wondered though he trailed off as he realised none of them actually knew what they were doing.

"Whatever exactly I suggest we do that and see where it takes us," Draco decided looking slightly uneasy about the whole thing.

Night

"You wanted to meet with me?" Harry asked as he walked into a clearing in the midst of the forbidden forest,

"Indeed, I thought it best to begin our investigation quickly, neither of us have any reason not to," the figure replied pleasantly as if nothing had ever happened between these two in the past.

"Well other than the mutual hatred and I need to be back at school by morning, also let's not forget some of your puppets might need you, Dumbledore may need help dressing," Harry commented dryly

"Don't act so hostile, it does not bode well for this alliance," the figure requested plainly

"I suppose you have something?" Harry asked after a few long seconds of silence, the figure looked up through the hood

"As you cannot see and I assume you do not wish to I am going to tell that I am smiling, you have skipped to the point and this banter can cease however no I do not," the figure answered. Harry looked surprise, the thing he knew as a monster did not seem the type to call him for no reason.

"I have not investigated Pettigrew much before hand, however seeing as your help may prove valuable we are going to start at the beginning of this, the town Pettigrew vanished in, take my arm please," the figure requested extending a claw like gnarled hand. Feeling like he should do the opposite Harry grabbed the being's arm and was sucked into nothing.

Rowens

He appeared a few seconds after he vanished, Harry gasping on the floor while the figure stood tall looking down, shadow travel was fun for Harry; going amazingly fast and everything but whatever that was; well it was tight, uncomfortable and sickening.

"I suppose it takes some getting used to, welcome to Rownes, a small town around three miles away from the site Voldemort attacked you as a baby, this house was the same one occupied by Pettigrew who is not within the walls but we may find a trace, shall we?" the figure mock asked before walking up the door.

"Why are we here? Surely any trace is long gone by now? I mean what would he have left behind?" Harry asked realising they were investigating the site of a ten year old event,

"As I recall Sirius Black was arrested here, the house was sole numerous times and yet every one of them moved quickly, we are not just looking for Pettigrew but signs, someone wants people out of this house and we shall find out why," the figure explained.

"You could have told that earlier," Harry muttered walking up behind the figure

"No if I had then we could have been overheard, the forest is a dense place and now if we are done talking we can enter," the figure answered before knocking on the old wooden door, it was a weak knock coming from the monster having literally dead hands but Harry did not comment. He was considering why he had agreed to do this,

"Good no one is home," the figure mumbled as it waved a hand over the lock and then the door swung open

"After you," it gestured leading Harry inside, it was dark and spacious with furniture dotted around and it held no sign of a convict ever being here. Which was strange Harry, there was no sign of anyone ever being here, there was dust everywhere and the batteries in the clocks had long since died.

"Does someone live here?" Harry asked aloud

"Apparently, however I think we can both agree that the idea is wrong, at the moment the house is empty and in fact no one has been in this house for some time, so why do people move in and out?" the figure questioned aloud.

"Don't answer, you don't know either," the figure warned before Harry could say anything

"I may not know the answer but I do know that if no one's been here for a long time why have two people just turned up and why are six others waiting in the dark behind them?" Harry asked looking at the front door and sensing those in the distance.

"Because it's now quite obvious that we have walked into a trap,"


	48. Chapter 48

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 48

"A trap?" Harry questioned, this was supposed to be a secret so how could anyone know they were there.

"Not for us, I assume Dumbledore does not wish for anyone to look into Peter Pettigrew, it seems his trap was for other less skilled persons. Step back a moment Harry Potter, you would not be of much use here," the figure decided slowly turning towards the door. With a flick of its wrist the door opened and slowly a man and woman walked into the room which was suddenly covered in a blanket of darkness. Harry however could see both of the intruders were dressed in muggle clothes but it was the fashion of the eighties, they were out of place but they did not know it.

"Is someone here?" the man asked obviously pretending to live here,

"Evidently sir, now who sent you and why? Do not pretend you live here I am no fool," the figure announced from the shadows, Harry could no longer see him but it moved around the sides of the room according to his senses.

"Sent us?" the woman questioned in a sceptical voice

"Yes, this is a trap my dear and an obvious one at that, I would recommend a much better understanding of the world, however seeing as we are pressed for time I am going to give you three seconds to announce your employer and leave," the figure offered and Harry worked out he was now behind the man.

"Well in that case," the man suddenly spun round and kicked the figure in the chest, however the figure felt nothing; it was a dead woman's chest and it did not feel like that. Instead the figure blew the man to the other end of the room with black lighting, the woman drew a knife but she was met with the same treatment.

"Weak," the figure snarled, light entered the room once more and both of the imposters looked at Harry, then at the hooded monster looking down at them. The man lunged for Harry but was hit with a wave of energy that did not come from the figure.

"Good shot," the figure complimented plainly before knocking the woman down with an arc of lighting, she writhed in pain but the figure watched as Harry's Dementor senses prickled. The man was knocked out and yet more people were moving towards them, his eyes snapped into place when he saw a burly man with his wand drawn. The figure did not notice and in that one instant Harry had a choice, on one hand he could let this man kill the figure; surely if the body was killed again by a curse the figure would die to? Ending it would mean this would be over, all of it; Dumbledore would be his only real issue. On the hand the figure was his only way of freeing his Godfather. However this was a frail alliance and one would turn on the other sooner or later, Harry's hand stretched out.

"What are you doing?" the figure demanded gruffly but turned when he saw Harry had not aimed at him, the man who may have ended the figure fell back and was swiftly knocked back. Three others entered the room but the figure had seen them and they were on the floor in agony.

"A curse at that range would have caused this body serious damage, I may have died; you saved me Harry Potter! Why?" it demanded and Harry realised it was shocked. Its basic understanding of emotion and logic could not allow it to work out why he would save him. Harry didn't know himself

"That's not a conversation for now is it?" Harry rebuffed moving towards the figure

"Ahh yes I suppose not, you realise that I would normally interrogate these men, however I suppose it would be easier if you did the honours?" the figure offered pointing towards the nearest man.

"Fine," Harry quickly reached into his mind, the pain the figure had inflicted had already weakened his mind and Harry was able to dismantle his defences with ease,

"Dumbledore's man, he was sent to stop anyone looking into Pettigrew, you were right," Harry announced.

"Which proves Dumbledore did not let him run to the wild, he must have done something to ensure the rat hid, well it seemed this was a profitable expedition, now we must find out what Dumbledore did," the figure mumbled.

"But why would he do this? I mean why didn't he just leave the house, there's no evidence of anything happening here so why did he want it guarded?" Harry asked

"A very good question, I have a feeling something else is going with Dumbledore, it seems my time with him is approaching the end, already he is resisting and soon my control will not bide him anymore," The figure admitted.

"Well if he's under it now why can't you just ask him?" Harry asked

"No, the man has often played along with my demands but just as often he has broken free of them he is never been under my control entirely, this house shows that; I wanted Pettigrew dead after this night, however Dumbledore said the man had gone long before he arrived. He lied, I thought he had but it seems that more was done here, all we need to do is find out what," the figure replied with obvious distaste for what looked like a puppet pulling its own strings.

"So how do we find out what happened?" Harry wondered aloud

"That is simple, we need to break into his mind," the figure answered.

"That's going to be near impossible," Harry warned; Harry had occasionally delved into the man's thoughts but finding out his secrets would alert a very strong mental defence. His mind was a safe and it was well guarded.

"I will come with a plan, now we need to get you back to Hogwarts before your absence is noticed and I need to dispose of these unfortunate victims of their own stupidity."

Hogwarts

"Harry you look shattered," Hermione pointed out the moment he walked over to the table

"And good morning to you to Hermione," Harry greeted.

"She has a point," Cho interjected casually,

"Ok it's over, this group has resorted to talking about how Harry looks tired, we have officially exhausted all conversation," Draco announced loudly,

"Shut up Draco," Hermione suggested

"I'm going to go with no," he answered with a slight smile, it seemed slightly false but Harry decided to ignore it.  
"Anyway yes I didn't get much sleep last night, no idea why but just didn't," Harry explained not wanting anyone to find out who he was out with. It was not a conversation he wanted to have

"Well luckily you can catch up during history of magic," Draco told him

"I brought a pillow," Crabbe joked,

"You lot should pay more attention in class, the goblin revolution is a fascinating period in history," Hermione scolded

"The word fascinating does not belong in that sentence," Draco pointed out,

"What sentence?" Luna asked walking over

"Ah good Luna, what's more interesting to you; the goblin revolution of seventeen sixty something or how the woozles control the global honey trade?" Draco asked with a Hermione-annoying grin

"Woozles," Luna answered as Hermione gritted her teeth

"See Hermione," Draco offered as evidence to the girl who resorted to glaring at him

"Luna are we still on for castrating Draco later?" Hermione asked wanting to get back at the blond haired boy

"I can fit it in for six," Luna answered in all seriousness which caused Draco to shuffle away a bit.

"Well Draco it seems a conversation about Harry being tired can be productive, already we're talking about castration and woozles," Cho smiled

"Yeah I'd like to talk about them less on principle, they seem to be one of our main areas of conversation so let's change it up a bit, maybe talk about another horrifying surgery and another creature involved in global trade," Harry announced.

"Got it circumcision and honey badgers," Luna nodded; Harry sighed as did Hermione while Cho and Draco just laughed. Crabbe and Goyle looked slightly concerned

"Speaking of elaborate creatures and stranger things how is it going with your mother's journal?" Cho asked suddenly realising it had not been addressed recently.

"No progress, the snake helped but other than that nothing," Harry confessed truthfully; he had been tempted to ask his newfound ally but decided against it. He didn't trust it enough yet, also it belong to Lily so maybe something was in there about it, something it did not want Harry to know.

"Ok people we did it, we did it. Last year I said can we investigate smaller things and now instead of looking into monsters and dark lords we're looking into books, we did it," Draco grinned

"What about the monster roaming the halls?" Luna wondered aloud

"Postpone that to next year, I doubt there's going to be anything going in next year, I mean what else could they throw at us? Dragons?" Draco laughed

"No one sane would put a dragon near a school," Hermione told him

"No because a three headed dog is perfectly normal," Harry muttered

"Hagrid did it," Draco countered  
"So clearly you see my point," Hermione smiled, Draco looked at her with mock hurt

"Excuse me Miss Granger but I do believe I am the sarcastic one here, you are the clever one, I make the jokes and you hit me that is how this group works. I would like less hitting and more sarcastic comments but here we are," he mock scolded her.

"Anyway," Cho broke that branch of conversation

"Anyway what?" Crabbe wondered "No offence but we've used all the resources we have so why are we still talking about it? I mean we don't know anyone with years of linguistic experience,"

"Two things Crabbe, yes you have a very good point and two where did you learn the word linguistic?" Draco asked and then he was in deep thought.

"I thought of it first," Hermione and Draco said at the same time, well they shouted it more or less and everyone else looked confused.

"No you didn't I did," they said again somehow doing it in almost perfect conjunction

"Thought of what?" Harry asked not knowing what was going on

"We do know someone with years of experience," Hermione pointed out

"Who?" Cho asked, Hermione moved to answer but Draco cut her off.

"Remember he owes us a favour for giving his life back to him," Draco hinted

"We sent him a letter and everything, he would be happy to help us," Hermione interjected

"And seeing as he has travelled all over the world as an alchemist he might know something," Draco ended and both looked ready to continue this strange word game.

"Ok this is not a game of charades tell us!" Cho almost screamed in frustration,

"Nicholas Flamel," Draco and Hermione said together.

"That was possibly the most painful thing I have ever sat through," Harry sighed

"Agreed," Cho put her head back as Draco and Hermione looked pleased with their work.

"Why didn't you just tell us at the same time?" Crabbe asked

"Because that would be something called obvious and less fun," Draco announced looking almost insulted.

Meanwhile

Dumbledore had often sat and pondered how those seven did it, how they could be having a typical conversation and yet no one seemed to know what they were saying. They were not using a charm as far as he could tell, no they just seemed to be safe in a bubble of silence and yet no one noticed. They must know complicated magic and somehow Harry was keeping them all safe from his mental abilities. He could most likely enter their minds if he got them alone but doing that was hard, also if he did that Severus or Fillus would demand to come with them to his office. They no longer trusted him and would not allow him to find out what was going on. Everything he knew came back to those seven and yet they were lucky, they had escaped James Potter of all people and now he knew something was going on. Harry Potter had left the wards last night he knew that, also his agents stopping people investigating the house where Pettigrew "escaped" had vanished. Were they involved? And if they were how close were they to finding out about his entire plan? Or worse how close were they to finding out what he kept hidden in that house?


	49. Chapter 49

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 49

**Now a while ago I asked you for pairing ideas and I would like to know who you think Luna should be with as her personality could work with a lot of people. Thank you for reading **

**Apple**

"Go, Go, Go," Harry urged suddenly as he saw a Dementor he didn't like on the gate, the one thing he didn't want to get into was a conversation and he didn't feel too bad ducking slightly as they walked past. They were going to Hogsmeade and despite a minor disagreement between Harry and McGonagall about Lucy's scrawled signature he had been allowed to go.

"Wow and I thought all Dementors were kind welcoming people." Draco commented as they walked by

"First they're not people and she happens to be one of the most annoying Dementors I know so shut up and don't draw attention to me," Harry warned

"I'm half tempted to call her over now," Draco muttered and Harry shot him a venomous glare,

"And I'm half tempted to throw you into a wall but here we are," Harry announced and Draco frowned

"I think I'll go without getting hurt," Draco decided

"Don't count on that," Hermione warned looking at Draco warningly,

"Give it ten minutes and that will be wrong," Luna confirmed with a wide smile,

"I'm going to bet Luna's right," Crabbe agreed

"Adventurous I'm going to go with five," Goyle countered

"Three, and I'm going to bet Cho will be the one to slap him," Harry grinned

"I'm going to go with Luna and a kick," Goyle answered

"You know I much preferred the early years when you didn't slap me or hurt me in any way, instead you just glared at me from a distance, what happened to those days?" Draco wondered aloud

"You got more annoying," Cho answered for him as the group slipped away from the rest of the crowd, they weren't too far away from Hogsmeade but they wanted to slip back into their animal forms.

"Are we clear?" Cho asked not wanting to have anyone see them, Harry looked around and tapped into his Dementor senses, no one was around to see them and he leapt into his bird form. Crabbe and Goyle entered the form of a bear, Cho once more became a swan and Luna looked at her with her Snow wolf eyes. Hermione became a hare and Draco looked over her as a fox, he then looked over at Cho

_You know as a fox I am into chasing birds _he said into their mental connection,

_Shut up Draco, _Cho retorted looking over at Crabbe and Goyle

_Do you want us to eat him? _They both asked and Cho's had to think for a bit, something that Draco found worrying seeing as he could now read her thoughts.

_Hey without me there would be less comedy, did you think of that? _Draco demanded

_You know I did and you know what my response to that was, _she told him with a grin

_You know as much fun as this is don't we have a village to get to? _Harry interrupted

_Good point, how about a race? _Draco suggested

_I'm a swan, _Cho pointed out

_Exactly I have a great chance of winning, ok let's go,_ Draco announced before shooting off through the field, Hermione followed closely while Luna picked up Cho and ran with her, Harry flew through the air and looked down at the two charging bears. He wondered what someone looking at this would think

_Probably why the hell is a Swan riding a wolf while chasing a fox and a hare, also why are bears in this country, _Draco suggested mentally and Harry remembered the downside to being connected to them in this way.

_Hey most of us don't use our thoughts as an insulting platform _Hermione protested

_And that is why you will never be a great comedian _Draco pointed out. Harry suddenly looked behind him to see another Raven coming up behind him,

_Oh Harry's attracting female attention _Draco slyly commented as the slightly lighter bird tried to move past Harry,

_She's cutting me off_ Harry worked out as the bird flapped around him,

_Wow I thought that would happen to Draco first _Luna interjected and Harry laughed slightly before trying to overtake the other Raven, it looked at him almost annoyed.

_Harry why is beating another Raven so important to you? _Hermione asked eventually

_Guys I take it none of us are the big black dog? _Cho announced awkwardly meaning Hermione never got an answer, Harry looked to see a black dog coming up at the side, the other raven was looking at it strangely while Harry looked at the dog.

_Do you know this dog? _Draco asked listening to Harry thinking about it

_Yes I do, ok change back, _Harry requested suddenly and everyone complied. Luna however changed back and Cho went flying suddenly as the swan lost the support of the wolf and was propelled forward.

"Luna," Cho scorned in her normal voice

"Hey you won the race," Draco laughed as Harry touched down on the ground, the black dog stopped suddenly and looked at the group, then it saw Harry. The other raven and dog suddenly returned to human form,

"Sirius," Harry greeted with a slight nod at the shaggy man who looked pleased to see him

"And me," Bellatrix interrupted suddenly

"Harry are you going to introduce us to the escaped convicts?" Draco asked and Bella looked at him with a sigh.

"I thought you were joking when you said he was annoying," was all she said

"Look at that, you meet an aunt for the first time and she's being mean, tut tut," Draco murmured.

"Cho, Draco, Luna, Hermione, Crabbe, Goyle this is Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange," Harry informed them gesturing to the pair who smiled.

"I take it there not going to kill us then," Cho smiled walking forward and shaking Sirius's hand, the rest followed and they introduced themselves to the pair.

"Aww families, they come in strange forms, a dog and raven in this case," Luna announced

"Yes you didn't tell us you had become an animagus Harry," Sirius pointed out

"And you didn't tell me you were planning to escape," Harry retorted somewhat coolly and the smile fell from the man's face

"Good point," he muttered

"Look Harry we are sorry we didn't tell you but we knew you would try to stop us leaving," Bellatrix interjected an Harry sighed.

"I suppose your freedom is more important , how did you get here?" he asked them

"With some difficulty, anywhere nice animal forms all of you," Bella answered before Sirius could speak

"Anyway what are you doing here?" Harry asked realising Hogwarts would not be the best place to go if he was on the run, Sirius was about to answer when they both looked up, they could see the outline of a teacher.

"Harry we're sorry we got to go, it was nice meeting you all," he decided switching back into his animal form, Bella did the same and quickly the two of them vanished into the sky.

"Bye then," Harry sighed to the sight of the fleeing pair, they had a good point.

Later

"So what do you think they're doing?" Cho asked Harry as she came back with a round of butterbeers, everyone took them quickly. They were in the Hog's end which they all knew would be less busy than the three broomsticks and they would not be overheard.

"No idea but they must have had a good reason to come here, " Harry pointed out

"Yep, if I had escaped from prison I'd go somewhere say with more sun, more sand and less Dumbledore," Draco muttered not loudly enough for anyone but the group to hear

"As unfunny as that was he does have a point," Hermione agreed,

"Well I'm sure we'll find out soon enough," Harry decided looking around, then he saw something appear in the window, a white owl that suddenly zoomed towards him.

"Hedwig? What are you doing here?" he asked the white owl which extended a foot, it had a letter

"Wow look at that he has more educated conversations with his owl than you," Cho smiled and Draco shook his head

"I remember the time where I made comments like that,"

"What ten seconds ago?" Luna asked and everyone laughed

"Whose it from?" Crabbe asked and Harry withdrew a letter from Nicholas Flamel, they had written to him a few times with a picture of the symbols and he knew two sets of them. So they had sent him the pages after making him promise he wouldn't tell anyone.

"It's another part of my mum's journal," Harry announced and after making sure the bartender was out of the way he looked at what it said, the letter from Flamel warned it was disturbing but he did not know who wrote it.

_Every lead I follow ends in nothing, no one knows anything and I'm starting to think I'm looking for someone who doesn't exist, someone who is hiding away while the world looks on. I know Dumbledore is involved somehow but I don't know much else, however my investigating time is less available now. I'm starting to fall for James Potter, he is someone I just can't get out of my head and yet I hated him a week ago. I've been tested for love potion but it's like something inside of me is pushing me towards him, it's weird if nothing else_

"That's deep," Draco sighed however only Harry knew that there was something hidden, something pushing her towards James, it was living inside her, like a parasite that evolved too far. However when she died it became more, however he was the only person who knew this so he moved onto the last entry.

_I was right looking back, I was reading my seventh year entry and I was right, I don't love James and I also know that I was hunting for someone hiding, hiding in me. I am the reason people cannot be safe, the thing I've been looking for is inside me, some kind of force. Something that cannot be controlled and I see no way out, not one, It also explains James. I know behind it all he is cruel and yet he maintains he loves me and yet I know it's not true. He is obviously working with this thing whatever it is, my only question is why it's letting me do this; write this, what does it gain from letting me know this. My other question is it in my son? Did it pass on information, questions without answers; so many of them and yet I have nothing, nothing but Harry who on this Halloween night seems strange._

"The night she died," Harry worked out and sighed deeply, Cho put a comforting hand on his back and he smiled at her.

"So what did she mean?" Hermione wondered "I mean about something being inside her"

"No idea," Harry was relieved that Draco did not comment on her choice of words but he supposed it was a bit of a dark thing to get into.

"There's too much we don't know," Harry agreed, he was wondering how his mother found out this thing was inside her, did it know she was going to die soon and wanted to show its hand. Or was it something else, maybe the rest of the journal would tell him but with resources running out he had no idea how to proceed.

"Are you ok Harry?" Cho asked suddenly and Harry nodded,

"Anything your thinking of?" She asked and Harry once more found himself having to lie for the sake of this alliance with the creature

"Fine," he assured her but once again she didn't look convinced, he was starting to worry he was becoming obvious, that he did know more than everyone else but he didn't want to tell them. Working with the creature was shameful to say the least and they would never understand and then he realised the creature had a point when they first spoke in the chamber, he was not like them and he doubted he ever could be.


	50. Chapter 50

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 50

**I know I don't often update this story during the week but I have news, we're coming towards the end of this story. I had another plotline but once the current one that's been hanging over our heads since the beginning is at an end is done so is the story. There is another plotline I may use as a sequel but I'm not sure whether or not to use it, so for the rest of this story I am going to as if you think there should be a sequel. Thank you all for reading **

**Apple**

Cho and Hermione were sat in the common room, they were in a deep conversation, recently Hermione had seen Harry return from the forbidden forest and since then they had looked for him at night. Harry's adventures had been going on every few days for the last two weeks and they had seen him return. They didn't ask him about it and wondered if he would talk about it but at long last they decided to find out where he was going. So they pretended to go to bed early and once the common room had cleared they snuck down and waited, he had not left yet and they were waiting to hear him approach.

"What the hell were you thinking?" they heard a voice suddenly "What if one of my roommates had heard you?"

"They did not, which is the important thing, now we have a limited window of opportunity in which to act, we must quickly or risk losing the trail, already I sense the rat is getting ready to leave and I fear if we do not act then we will lose him," A deep calmer voice explained slowly

"Your voice is deeper," Harry suddenly remarked walking down the stairs and opening the large doors, Hermione and Cho were behind the furniture but he did not sense them, he was preoccupied with this person.

"A dead voice decays, this body is failing, a decaying body cannot support a power such as this for long," was the reply

"And what will you do?" Harry asked slightly concerned about his own safety

"I will find another, now I wish to talk to you," the person answered casually walking out of the Ravenclaw Common room,  
"About? "Harry asked

"Your mother's journal," was the response and both girls looked at each other, both shocked. How did this person know about it and why would Harry share

"How do you know about that?" Harry demanded suddenly, angrily almost as he realised that this thing had been playing him.

"Because I am no fool, The sorting hat however old could not have hidden it well, also your talents come into play and I know you have it by your reaction to the subject," was the answer and Harry just looked at this thing.

"What about it?" Harry asked

"Why did you not come to me?" was the question and it seemed to Cho and Hermione whoever this was seemed confused.

"Because it's about you," Harry answered and a dry throaty chuckle escaped from its mouth

"No, No, No she never knew about me, not until the end and I needed to take control the moment she died to ensure I would live on," it answered.

"What are they talking about?" Hermione whispered to Cho who frowned, she had no idea either , she just shook her head to ensure neither Harry or his friend heard them.

"Wait, Cho I know him," Hermione breathed suddenly

"What?" Cho asked concerned

"It's Draco's boggart," she answered and Cho gasped, this was the figure, the mysterious figure behind everything and yet Harry was with it. What was going on here?

"Hermione Harry might be in trouble, do you know the Slytherin password?" she asked

"Pureblood as normal," was her dull answer and Cho nodded

"Go and get Draco, Crabbe and Goyle, Luna too, I think Harry might need us," she decided looking at her friend with obvious concern. She was worried he was being manipulated or forced to work with it,

"So what actually happened?" Harry asked, the hooded monster he knew looked at him

"Voldemort fired the killing curse, yet the power in you rejected it and as I predicated it sank inside you, it burned up deflecting the curse and I thought it was gone, however we both the rest of this story," was the answer and Harry didn't know whether or not the thing was regretful or proud.

Dumbledore's office

"Blood drop," the creature hissed towards the gargoyle which moved quickly, the old man had a very strange taste in sweets.

"Now be silent, his wards will not activate thanks to me but if he awakes then it will get confrontational," the creature warned slowly stepping up the staircase, when they both reached the office the creature opened it with a slight wave of the hand.

"Lily Potter was many things and powerful was one of them, it is a shame she never realised the full extent," the creature muttered opening the door

"But it gave you a chance to live," Harry commented,

"It did but remember my original plan was for her to live, she was supposed to step aside like Dumbledore said she would, however I realised too late she would not, my original plan was to take over her living body not the dead one and I need a new one," was its blunt and yet truthful answer.

"How do you do that?" Harry asked in a whisper

"With great difficulty," was its cryptic response then it guestured for silence and crept up a staircase to where Dumbledore was sleeping, Harry sensed the creature remove ward after ward but they were powerful and Harry decided to let the creature do the work this time.

"After you," it whispered and Harry closed his eyes and plunged down into his mind.

_He did not see a landscape like with __Quirrel __but instead saw a swirling tunnel of memories, it quickly stretched to become a maze and Harry realised the walls were shields, if he touched one then it would either wake the man up or throw Harry out. So he walked looking at the walls which sometimes held pictures, some moved and he Dumbledore as a young child, fighting with his brother and talking to a young confused girl Harry did not recognise. Then again it was years ago so why would he, as he walked he heard shouts, the name Dumbledore among other things that made little sense. Then he looked around, he was looking for something to do with Pettigrew or Sirius but instead he saw one passage, impossibly thin. This was a lot of protection and Harry wondered what he was doing with it, whatever was inside was his deepest and darkest secret. So Harry looked for a way in, the maze wall was tiny and then he realised. He was not human and he the powers of a Dementor, if he could stop its aura then could he start his own? Dementors chose happy memories to devour but it was a choice, so he closed his eyes and willed the memories towards him. It was too much and suddenly Harry was viewing hundreds of memories. Fights, a young charismatic man, a dead woman, a duel with the young man who aged to become an older one, he saw Dumbledore meet the great father of Lily Evans and continue the process. He saw the offspring of this, the creature meet Dumbledore in a dream before becoming a physical being, he saw Sirius for a second and then he saw the house, the house he and the creature had been to but he did not see either Pettigrew of Sirius.  
"Help me," an old woman with the voice of a child begged looking at an unseen person with desperation, then she was looking through a window. A window where he could see Sirius and Pettigrew, why was he seeing her perspective? This was Dumbledore's memory so who had put this in? The woman possibly but suddenly he saw Pettigrew shrink and the woman prepared to greab something from a small vent, it was a rat. A rat he recognised, Ron Weasley's rat._

"_Help me," the woman turned to him with pleading eyes, did she know who it was or had she put this out for anyone to find, had she hoped there would be a trial or something but Harry decided something then. He could rescue her on his own, but there was someone who could help, so he pulled out of Dumbledore's mind._

"What did you find?" the creature asked as Harry slowly moved away from the man

"I know where Pettigrew is," he answered and the creature nodded, it almost smiled

"Where?" it asked wanting to end this once and for all, Harry looked at it.  
"I'm not going to tell you," was his answer and the creature recoiled  
"What? You are protecting the man who sent your godfather to his dead and had a hand in killing Lily?" it demanded in a hushed whisper

"No I need your help with something first," Harry replied somewhat icily and the creature looked at him

"What?" it demanded with no idea what possible interest Harry could have in that house.

"We need to go back to the house Sirius was caught in," he answered

"Why?" the creature demanded somewhat angrily, it was being denied what this alliance had been forged on.

"Because I need to, your choice," Harry offered, this woman whoever she was had tried to help Harry , well anyone looking into Pettigrew but she needed help and Harry was not going to not help her. If she was alive that is, it was a long time ago and she was old but he still had to try.

"Fine, I will need to leave from the forest," it sighed dejectedly

"No I need you in case someone's there, I can get us there," Harry answered

"And may I ask how?" the creature wondered "Flight would take a lot of time," Harry smiled,

"Dementors have another way of getting around," Harry informed the creature with a dark glare, then he quickly spun around and focusing all his power on the shadows pushed himself and the creature to the ground, it was caught off guard and suddenly both of them were being devoured by the shadows.

"What the hell just happened?" Draco asked from the stairs, they had seen everything and yet had no idea what was going on.

"Why did Harry do that?" Luna asked with a confused frown  
"Why would he go anywhere near that thing," Draco asked looking at the spot they vanished from, he was very confused and wanted answers. Answers he at the moment did not have

"More importantly how long has he been working with the hooded figure?" Hermione asked

"Are you suggesting he's doing it willingly?" Draco looked shocked Hermione would think that about his best friend, Harry was not the type to do something like that, he would never betray them like that.

"He didn't seem unwilling," Hermione accused not wanting to think that but the logical part of her mind was working well

"And you would know?" Draco snapped

"Well he could have been taken over by his Dementor part," Hermione pointed out

"Harry is not that weak, and no I know he would not do this willingly," Draco replied angrily

"Calm down both of you, we need to work out what the hell is going on and not speculate and accuse, we need to find out why Harry is with this guy and more importantly we need to find if he's in trouble," Cho interrupted, she felt the same as them and her mind was working in the same way but she was going to hear the facts. She wanted to know what was going on but she was not going to just jump to a conclusion.  
"Fine let's calm down and work it out, Harry could be in trouble," Draco pointed out

"I would be far more worried about yourself Mr Malfoy," Dumbledore announced walking towards the group with his wand drawn, unlike Harry and the creature there was a lot of them and they had made a lot of noise without knowing about.  
"Now we are going to have a little chat and you are going to tell me everything you know,"

"Or what?" Draco demanded

"Or I will force you to," the man answered lightly with an dark gaze.


	51. Chapter 51

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 51

"I still do not understand what brought you here," the creature announced the second they had arrived, they were a few feet from the front door and Harry could tell his companion was indeed perplexed.

"Well the sooner we find out the sooner we get Pettigrew," Harry answered, the creature said nothing but followed him with some interest towards the house, using his senses Harry quickly worked out no one was there.

"We searched this house what is it you desire?" the creature almost demanded and Harry enjoyed it's confusion, for once he had something of it. Instead of answering Harry reached into his senses, he knew someone had to be here, he had seen them in Dumbledore's own mind. Then he felt something, not a person but a ward, similar to the one he and the others had placed two years ago on the third floor.

"Over here," Harry informed his hooded companion who walked over the stairs, it was plain wood and there was no door or opening. Harry however waved his hand over the mid section, he grabbed the ward with his mental powers and pulled it away, a door was there.

"Incredible, so Dumbledore is hiding more here," the creature pointed out and suddenly Harry could tell it was wary, having your right hand man act in this way had to be worrying if nothing else. Dumbledore was hiding things and Harry knew he had to find out what

"This way," Harry called to it as he looked inside the door, as he suspected there was a staircase, one he followed down to a large metal door, it had rusted slightly, very slightly and that was the only sign it had been there a long while.

"Allow me," the creature said plainly extending one hand, the air was then alight with energy and a few second the door had been thrown off its hinges.

"So what is it? What brought you here," the creature asked again thinking once it had helped Harry would open up, however Harry was not looking at it, he was looking at what was obviously a bed.

"Not what, who," Harry corrected as light flooded the room, he used a lumos spell and now they both saw a woman lying in the bed. She was elderly to say the least, pale sickly skin and a thin frame that looked so delicate it would snap, yellow and black teeth with a wrinkled face and one eye that was bad, short grey hair hung off her head like a disease, one that wanted to let go.

"Hello? "a weak voice managed to whimper, the creature fell silent and Harry slowly moved over to the old woman, she had been very different in the memory, but that had been a good eleven years ago.

"Hello," Harry greeted unsure of what to say to her, he had no idea who she was nor why she was here, he could see a pipe above her which must have given her food once a day judging by the dried marks and a tap for water, one that had not been used for a while.

"Did he send you?" was the next question from her gasped breath

"No one sent us," Harry answered and he chose this moment to enter her mind, there was no protection, instead he saw a little girl attacked by muggles, he saw a young man brilliant in every way and then a duel that ended in her being hurt. Then he saw eighty years or more of the same room and Dumbledore's voice above, he heard thing; pointless things mostly; out of context and useless. Then he saw a name

"Ariana Dumbledore," he breathed, Dumbledore's sister? He didn't even know the old man had one

"What?" the creature took this moment to interject "But she's supposed to be dead,"  
"He said that so he could hide me away," she answered in something of a daze, she seemed unsure of this was happening,

"We can get you out of here," Harry offered but he sensed something wrong, she was dying, she had been in this room most of her life and now it seemed as if she would die in it.

"No, you need to listen. My brother is planning a coup, he wants to take control of the ministry and a group," she began slowly finally reciting years of overhearing conversation. Dumbledore had meetings upstairs and he kept this house secret from everyone else, however the meetings were no longer secret.

"A coup?" the creature asked darkly, he was finally what he had suspected confirmed.

"Yes, at Hogwarts. He has people there who are going to help him, he has children, Wizengamot children," she answered through heavy breaths

"Who could vote him in power if blackmailed," the creature deduced and Ariana gave a slight nod to confirm it,

"Yes, it's his master plan but I heard it all, please stop him," she begged and Harry saw this was the only she had, she wanted the man who kept her here to pay for what he did and fail. Something Harry would help her with

"We will," he vowed lowly realising he was talking to a woman who had minutes left, the creature was looking at them oddly as Harry took Ariana's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"Come on," Harry decided, she was not going to die in this room, she had spent far too long in it and surprisingly the creature stepped in, he flicked Lily Potter's dead hand and lifted her into the air, he carried her gently out of the room and laid her outside.

"Fresh air," Ariana had no idea what was going on but she feel the difference "Thank you,"

Her last words left her body as well as a final breath and Harry felt humbled, he had arrived just in time and helped a woman not die in her prison.

"Odd," the creature mumbled and Harry turned around

"What?" he asked,

"I was wrong, your emotion has made you more powerful," it was confused, shocked and also humbled so it was no surprise neither of them said anything for a short time.

"If he's planning a coup you got us out of there in time," the creature pointed out eventually realising he had to deal with what Ariana had said.

"What makes you think it's today/" Harry asked

"He invited me to the castle in the early morning, he intended to spring a trap and the group I helped found would hit me with killing curses, this body would give way, he was asleep because he needed energy for a coup," the creature answered angrily.

"We would have been caught in the trap," Harry deduced realising this woman in some ways had saved his life, she had planted a memory which had led to her peace and Harry's safety. All unknowingly but that didn't matter

"What do we do?" Harry asked

"We can do nothing, if he's planning a coup it explains everything but we have no way of stopping him, I know the effects of him in control are formidable but to storm Hogwarts we would need an army," the creature answered. For a second everything was lost and then Harry worked something out

"We have an army," he almost smiled.

Meanwhile

"Tell me," Dumbledore growled as he studied the six he had chained to chairs in his office,

"No," Cho spat suddenly and the old man slapped her hard, she recoiled but did not give any indication of pain

"Is this how schools work now? The headmaster employs a bit of torture, somehow you make yourself look more of a moron every day, from giant dog to torture, the only reason I want to escape is because I don't want to die at the hands of a bearded twat," Draco interrupted suddenly and a few mouths dropped at that. Dumbledore looked dumbstruck, this was supposed to be an interogation, he was supposed to strike fear.

"Brave words Mr Malfoy, perhaps I should target you first," Dumbledore suggested drawing his wand,

"Oh come on, this is not the first or last time I have been threatened and to be honest Cho is scarier than you," Draco commented drawing the man closer

"Your certainly brave for someone tied to a chair," Dumbledore hissed angrily leaning closer to Draco's ear

"And you certainly brave for someone whose about to hit by a bear," Draco grinned as a huge bear paw smacked into the side of his head, the man had been so angry he had gotten so close to Draco Crabbe could reach over. Crabbe who was now in his bear form

"Nice work, ok let's undo this chains and we can go," Draco suggested, the only reason he had allowed the man to get them was because from afar he could have stopped a bear, up close he was done for.

"Wow Draco saved us," Hermione pointed out

"Don't think I still won't hit you," Cho smiled evidently relived

"Look as much fun as banter is we need to go, perhaps outside the school where the old guy won't get us, maybe go to the Dementors they know us, or we know them," Draco suggested once everyone was free.

"I don't think we need to worry too much about that," Luna suddenly interjected looking out of the window dreamily

"Why?" Draco asked knowing this was not the time to talk about strange creatures or plots

"Because they're all invading," she pointed out of the window, outside was a swarm of Dementors descending on the castle, all the guards and more on the horizon and a slight cold entered them, Harry was gone but his influence was not.

Harry

"_Are you sure this is a good idea?"_ Lucy asked flying next to Harry, he and the creature had appeared just outside the school and Harry had contacted his mother and asked her to help.

"I know it is mum," Harry assured her

"_Why? and who is that?" _she asked looking and the hooded creature, evidently she was getting a bad sense from him too.

"A friend, sort of look Dumbledore's planning to take over and he's got friends inside the school," Harry began

"A lot of them, the group is large and influential, the great hall will be filled with around fifty people, ten of which are on the council, the others are hired or henchmen, be wary," the creature interupted knowing the members of the group, he also knew they could hold the Dementors at bay, however he would prove more of a challenge.

"_How does he know?" _Lucy asked obviously confused

"Trust him, he knows what he's talking about," Harry confirmed as another Dementor approached, Lucy quickly engaged in conversation and the creature tapped Harry on the shoulder.

"I told you I was wrong, I was. I told you emotion was making you human and a bad thing, however again I was wrong, I know you think badly of me and I understand it however I do feel somewhat proud. You are powerful and I thought you were suppressing that power by being human, I was wrong you were making yourself more powerful and weakening the monster within you," it began and Harry fell silent, this couldn't be happening. The arrogant monster who told him he would be better off without emotion was saying it was wrong

"We have been working together three weeks and I have seen you loyalty and love for your friends but also love and care for a woman you did not know, I would consider it weakness but what you did was good. Heroic even and you stood up to me countless times because you were right, I am a monster I do not deny it but I realise you are not," the creature sighed

"And is that a bad thing?" Harry asked never understanding the creature's viewpoint

"No, not anymore and I realise that despite you seeing my power you resisted me, you did not become a monster, you did not become like me. You became like Lily and I know she would be proud. You were born so you would be a tool and yet I was wrong, you are better than that and for that reason we are done, after this battle we shall never see each other again," it informed him quickly.

"Why?" Harry asked

"Because I intend to end this, with Pettigrew's death a plan to make Dumbledore a hero will end, he got bored of the plan and attempted this. So I release you, your life is your own and I will vanish into the world," the creature proclaimed and Harry didn't know what to say.

"What about your body?" Harry asked knowing the decayed mess would soon fall apart

"Why do you think I'm here? Dumbledore has attempted to depose me and he has a body, one I intend to take," the creature hissed with a grin under its hood. It seemed some people didn't change that much

"Goodbye, I am going into the school you secure control outside of it and I will ensure each member of our order is destroyed," the creature requested and Harry got the sense this would be the last time they spoke.

"So this is the end?" he asked

"Indeed it is, you know I said when we met in some ways I was your spiritual father, I still think that and I am proud of you," the creature ended before vanishing into the air.

"_Where's your friend?" _Lucy asked rejoining the conversation

"Gone," Harry answered turning his back on where it had been

"_Are you ready?" _she asked plainly

"I am, let's end this mum,"


	52. Chapter 52

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 52

Fudge had been woken in the night to discover that his Dementor guard had moved on Hogwarts, at first it had been a joke but now it was a crisis.

"Why would they have done such a thing?" he demanded walking side by side with Umbridge

"It is currently unknown and many are flocking to the school now, it is almost as if they are being commanded," she answered with slight distaste for the creatures, Fudge shook his head.

"It can't be, why would anyone march on Hogwarts unless, is Sirius Black on Bellatrix Lestrange inside?" he asked knowing Dementors had decision making power when it came to them to.

"If they are then Dumbledore has not mentioned it," Umbridge pointed out,

"That gives us nothing, what the man doesn't mention is often a crucial bit of information, however at the moment we are going to assume they are and the Dementors are acting legally, assemble a team of arurors and prepare them for a search of Hogwarts. Also ensure they have Patronus training in case the Dementors are not acting in our best interests," he commanded wanting to hope for the best but fearing for the worst.

"Of course," Umbirdge answered before slinking away to do her job. Fudge walked into his office and sighed, why did this have to happen? Had something happened to provoke the Dementors? He didn't know.

Hogwarts

"Come on leaving might be an idea around now," Draco remarked for the group to speed up, they all knew Dumbledore would wake up sooner or later and at that point they wanted to be far enough way for it not to be a problem.

"Draco really? Sarcasm even when we are in the middle of an escape?" Cho demanded slightly irritated as they ran

"I used sarcasm as Dumbledore was threatening to torture us, I think now I'm just thinking here that it might have saved us, just thinking while we're running. Also while we're talking a Dementor army is descending upon us so maybe we should run faster and get to them before he gets to us," Draco suggested as they arrived in the courtyard, then he froze. It seemed a lot of students were also in the courtyard, some trying to get out but being blocked and others being herded there by the Dementors. Obviously the creatures were getting the students away from Dumbledore, however the students didn't know that. They were too busy fighting off the cold and negative emotions being forced into their minds.

"Well they want to get the students to safety how nice, now our safety depends on us leaving so does anyone else speak Dementor?" Draco wondered aloud knowing the answer. However leaving was suddenly looking less likely as a stir went through the crowd. Everyone was in their nightclothes as they had been woken up by a swarm of Dementors.

"They're all looking at us," Hermione worked out and Draco resisted the urge to clap sarcastically

"Might be because we're friends with a person who associates with Dementors," Cho pointed out

"It's them its Potter's friends," Ron Weasley suddenly proclaimed proving their point

"Great somehow Fate has decided to make this day worse," Draco sighed looking at the red haired boy approach, the Gryffindors were suddenly all looking at him with a lot of interest. They wanted to see how this would play out

"You did this," he accused suddenly pointing a pyjama sleeve to the sky, Dementors were overlooking the students and keeping them in the courtyard

"Sorry?" Draco asked caught off guard by this

"He's saying we summoned the army of Dementors," Luna clarified

"I know that I'd just like to know why he thinks that, I mean none of us have Dementor commanding experience," he told her while rolling his eyes

"You and Potter did this," Ron continued looking furious,

"Ok now we're elaborating now if you would give us your inane thought process so we can destroy it then we can speed this conversation up," Draco suggested already annoyed by the drama, Ron glared at him and a few Gryffindors moved closer

"I saw you on the train, Potter can talk to Dementors. He's the one doing this and you're helping him as normal," he accused and the group's shock at him knowing about the train gave the wrong message. Ron's anger was growing thanks to the Dementors chill and sooner or later things would get messy.

"See, I told you. Potter can talk to Dementors," Ron announced triumphantly and people looked at the accused party with shock horror, they had all heard about him getting close to a Dementor but talking and controlling one was something else.

"So what?" Hermione demanded "So he can talk to them does that mean he's responsible?"

"Shut up Know it all," Ron snarled but Hermione didn't flinch, she had seen worse than this boy.

"You have no way of proving it was him, no way at all," Cho defended glaring at him, her being a year above made her slightly more intimidating than Hermione, however Ron's anger was fuelled and he just glared at her.

"He can talk to them? And where is he? He's not with you lot so where is he?" Ron demanded with a smug grin,

"Right here," A voice echoed across the courtyard as Harry walked in, behind him were three Dementors

"Oh he is doing it, I would apologise Weasel but I'm not going to," Draco remarked looking at Harry instead,

"Did I miss anything?" Harry asked with a grin walking over to his friends, then he recoiled as Cho and Hermione slapped him,

"That's for not telling us that you were working with the hooded creep," Cho told him with a glare

"How did you... you followed me," Harry worked out feeling stupid, they had followed almost everyone they suspected so when he started to go out at nights why did he assume they wouldn't follow him.

"Well done, now if you would kindly explain what the hell is going on then we can sort this out," Draco requested looking slightly irked by the nights events

"He's an evil monster is what's going on," Ron interrupted and Luna looked around, then she lunged forward and kicked him hard in the groin, he fell on the floor

"Sorry I didn't get to insult him," she justified as the boor groaned from the floor,

"Me and the figure were working to find Peter Pettigrew," Harry began wanting to get across why he had to do it,

"Did you check the grave?" Remus Lupin asked suddenly, he was being escorted into the courtyard by a team of Dementors, he had fought them off but eventually they had overpowered him

"He was never dead, it was faked to frame Sirius Black," Harry answered knowing the man had been friends with him a long time ago; Lupin fell silent as Harry turned around.

"Can you bring him out?" he requested to Dora who was hiding in the air, however in one clawed hand she held a man, a short squirming man with messy hair and who obviously hadn't washed in some time. No student could have known him but

"Peter?" Lupin gasped looking a mixture of amazed and hate filled. When the Dementors had ushered the Gryffindors to this courtyard "Scabbers" the rat had been grabbed.

"In the flesh," Sirius Black answered jumping out from a pillar , he had been hiding their as a dog and if things had turned violent with Ron then he would have interfered, he however the students recognised and they all moved back.

"He's working with the murderer," Ron accused suddenly

"A cleared one, Peter here confessed to his crimes and has been arrested," Harry answered as Dora took the man away, she held him high so he couldn't escape and when he was handed over to the ministry she would ensure they knew he was an animgaus.

"You did it?" Lupin demanded looking at Pettigrew with more hatred than anyone could imagine,

"He did," Sirius confirmed looking at the man, Lupin turned to him

"Would you accept this wolf's apology for letting you suffer without help for all these years? And for me thinking you were the traitor?" he asked looking solemn, everything he knew had been turned upside down.

"Can you forgive me for the same?" Sirius smiled and the two friends embraced.

"So you caught the rat so why else are you doing this?" Cho asked wondering what else was going on

"Dumbledore, he was planning to take over tonight and hold students hostage until the minister stepped down and he was replaced, a secret coup that thanks to his sister we know about," Harry answered

"He wouldn't do that?" someone cried but they were ignored,

"Sister?" Sirius asked, when Harry had called him in the grounds he had only mentioned a coup not this part

"I'll explain later so as his friends are now in the castle waiting for him to begin we took the students and now I'm intending to get rid of Dumbledore," Harry announced looking at the castle darkly as he realised who was inside. The people who were all responsible in some way for had happened both to him at the Dursley's and to him in recent years.

"Might take some time, Dumbledore was knocked out by a bear," Draco muttered suddenly

"I wouldn't make jokes at a time like this Mr Malfoy," Lupin scolded

"He's not joking for once," Harry answered realising the old man must have captured them

"We're fine," Hermione told Harry before he could worry  
"Dumbledore's not, he got hit by a bear, "Luna interrupted looking

"That was a fun part," Crabbe agreed and Goyle looked slightly envious.

Meanwhile

People turned to look in shock, the students being escorted by the Dementors just looked amazed and repelled, the Dementors did nothing as Lily Potter moved among them. A thinner, decayed Lily Potter that was, however the being controlling her did not care about them, it was focused on revenge. Dumbledore would be going to the clock tower most likely and he would ensure everyone there would be removed from this world.

"Lily?" he heard a frightened Minerva McGonagall call out as she was surrounded by nine Dementors, she was very proficient with a Patronus and had fought them off very well, however even she had been overwhelmed and it had taken twenty to take her down. Now nine were taking her to one of the courtyards, her wand was being carried by another. Her shock was absolute but the creature moved on, Fudge had placed a lot of Dementors in the school and now they had taken over. Harry had been right about them, the boy weighed a lot on his mind, Harry had turned the tables on it and instead of Harry being taught to be inhuman the creature got a glimpse into being one.

"What happened to you Albus?" he heard the concerned voice of Molly Weasley from above as it entered the mid section of the tower, of course she would betray him. She would be the first one

"You've been clawed," Arthur pointed out

"By some kind of animal?" Kinglsey Shacklebolt asked, Dumbledore's loyal mole inside the ministry,

"Ignore it, we have a much more serious situation, we need to escape the school and quickly. Somehow the boy has discovered..." Dumbledore trailed off as he heard footsteps. Diggle and Doge were the other two members of the gathering, so these were the people betraying him.

"Has it come to the point when I am not invited to the meetings of my own order?" everyone jumped back except Dumbledore as Lily Potter walked up the stairs.

"So you reveal yourself," Dumbledore remarked looking at his former ally with disgust

"Indeed, your sister sends her regards from the grave," it answered and Dumbledore looked slightly surprised

"She's dead?" he asked and the creature nodded and Dumbledore for a few seconds look saddened, then he was back to his usual self.

"Indeed keeping her locked up is never a good idea, I should thank you Albus. Your meddling meant I turned to Harry Potter for help, someone who has shown me more than you could imagine. However I do intend to put this little rebellion down, the Dementors have already taken the students away from you. Ministry reinforcements will arrive any second and they will know the truth, the mercenaries I am sure your hiding in the castle will be destroyed. They kept well hidden from the Dementors but I know you all, rich, clever or friends with the old man," the creature snarled at the Weasley's knowing them to be largely useless.

"So we were being led by Lily Potter the entire time?" Molly questioned

"No I am utilising her body, however after the Dementors foiled the plot and when the aurors end your escapade there is only one thing left, the end of you six. Kingsley Shacklebolt, Arthur and Molly Weasley, Dedalus Diggle, Elphias Doge and Albus Dumbledore. I am going to kill you,"


	53. Chapter 53

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 53

A team of aurors arrived as Harry expected a few minutes after the Dementors had secured the students, Harry knew they were coming. Logically he knew the minister would want to find out what was going on quickly and also he would send a team of aurors who were highly skilled.

"You're in for it now Potter," Ron snarled as he noticed the Dementors moving to the side in order to allow the team through, Harry was slightly surprised to see the minister himself leading them, obviously he had caused a crisis which was bigger than he originally thought

"Harry," he greeted with obvious confusion in his eyes as he overlooked the scene, knowing he had a few moments before questions would be asked Harry gestured for Dora,

"Minster Fudge please meet Peter Pettigrew," Harry dropped the bombshell there and then as the man in question was once more dragged before the students, the courtyard was slightly warmer now as Harry's influence extended to protect more and more people, he needed positive emotions so they would believe him. For a moment Fudge looked disbelieving until he actually saw the man, his eyes widened as his mouth dropped slightly, Peter was currently unconscious but Harry assumed he would wake up sooner or later.

"Amelia?" he turned to a woman to his right, Harry recognised her as the woman in charge of security and felt pleased he had rendered two of the most important people in the ministry silent.

"It is," she gasped walking forward to study the man,

"Didn't we do this part a few minutes ago?" Draco asked and was silenced by a glare from Cho,

"He's supposed to be dead," Umbridge pointed out the obvious and Fudge rolled his eyes slightly but didn't let her see it, then Pettigrew woke up. The Dementors effect so high up had a serious effect which Harry had no intention of relieving, so instead he woke him up

"It was him all along," Sirius announced and all eyes, as well as wands were on him as the aurors looked unsure, Fudge looked at the Dementors but frowned when he realised they were not doing anything, he then looked at Harry.

"Dramatic," Draco announced softly

"Would you care to explain Mr Potter?" he asked confirming what he had thought at the beginning, there was a lot more to Sirius Black than public opinion dictated , Harry moved forward to explain but suddenly he was pulled to the side by Crabbe who had seen it first.

"Down," Madam Bones screeched pulling Fudge down as a series of curses rained down from the windows, the Dementors; immune moved to protect the students while shield after shield sent the curses flying , Harry swore under his breath; he had forgotten to mention the coup, he had been too focused on the moment he knew Sirius had been waiting for all this time. The moment of his innocence being proven, instead he was forced to wait until the aurors returned fire and sent the men above running for cover. Harry knew this was going to happen, the figure had warned him and yet he didn't listen,

"What is going on?" Fudge demanded looking at Harry, he was for a moment standing tall and obviously angry with being attacked, it wasn't hard to see he would order Sirius locked away any second.

"Dumbledore was intending to hold the students hostage, he wanted the Wizengamot to depose you," Harry answered rising to his feet,  
"Thanks Crabbe," he breathed knowing his friend had saved him from an awful lot of pain, Fudge's gaze however was now much more interested.

"Professor Dumbledore would not do that," one of the aurors answered but Madam Bones, Umbridge and Fudge knew differently, they knew what had happened and also they had been watching him.

"Then explain the attackers," the minister retorted but it was a question the minister did not want answered, instead he was focused on Harry. He believed him and slowly he walked towards him

"Listen up," he directed at his team and also the students to some extent, maybe even the Dementors

"Over the last three years Albus Dumbledore has been under investigation for various crimes, using dark magic, finical manipulation, forcing marriage and more. While I know you see him as a hero that time is now ending, the people in that school who attacked us may be in a treasonous conspiracy and we are going to end it. So Dumbledore is to be put under arrest on suspicion of high treason while we work out what has transpired, now ignoring that there are a number of men in that school, all of whom we don't want near children," Fudge began his speech and Harry was surprised at how it was done, charisma, slight manipulation and honesty,

"We're basing this on the world of a child," an auror interrupted

"This is going to get boring," Luna decided as Fudge turned to him

"Yes we are, and we're also basing it on the fact we have been attacked, dispute that," he snapped angrily not wanting to face Dumbledore hero worshippers, the auror in question said nothing.

"Then let's go," he commanded as the clock tower exploded in orange light. Harry spun around knowing what was going on and for some reason felt a twang of guilt or affection towards what was going on, he didn't know why but he suddenly felt involved. He moved to fly over

"No," Cho pulled him back down roughly as the aurors charged through the main door, they could already hear and see spell fire,

"We go together," she told him and Harry nodded, he didn't have much of a choice seeing as he had lied to them for some time,

"Wow standing here is really productive, why not go to the clock tower and see what the hell is going on," Draco suggested gesturing to a door and while everyone was focused on the minister they slipped away without being seen.

Meanwhile

"Sloppy," was the strangled cry emitting from Lily Potter's dead lips as the body ducked to avoid another stunner, Doge had been the culprit and a jet of black lightning knocked him down. The only challenging spell had been Dumbledore blowing up the internal clock to distract him

"_Crucio," _Molly Weasley spat but Lily's body was dead and the spell could do nothing, only power equal to the creature could hurt it, a basilisk was the only example it could think of. Then a gnarled clawed hand gripped her by the throat and promptly threw her against a wall and listened to the squelching sound it made as her head smashed against the solid surface.

"No," Arthur realised what had happened and charged, a foolish mistake because a round of lightning electrified his moving body and the pain forced him to the floor before he could process what had happened, a spell then hit its face. Part of it came loose and it took the creature a few moments to realise a slicing curse had removed a portion of its jaw,

"Diggle, always the one to be surprising," the creature smiled before unleashing a wave of energy powerful enough to shatter the man's bones, the crippled mess was certainly dead and Dumbledore looked down. He was on the platform overlooking the battle, he had been firing spells down and destroying things but seeing Diggle die shook him.

"_Avada," _Dodge was back on his feet but the creature flicked him away like nothing, he hit a few inches away from space Molly hit but he was an old man and the creature knew he was dead. His choice of spell however, the battle was now lethal but now it was only down to two people, the creature and Dumbledore.

"So the master and the student do battle," the creature cackled as it walked upwards, the floor was in pieces above with cogs dotting the floor and shards digging into dead feet, he could see the entire castle from the space a giant clock once occupied but now it was on the ground. Then without needing to look further the creature fired a blot of energy which Dumbledore, blocked; he had expected him to

"I am more powerful than you," the creature warned as it dodged a killing curse. Dumbledore said nothing, obviously focusing and hoping the elder wand would help him, it would not and another spell was fired followed by another and another each weakening Dumbledore's shield.

"You shouldn't have betrayed me," the creature spat unleashing black lightning which Dumbledore had to use magic and manoeuvring to dodge

"You were a mistake of nature, my own family created you and you think you can fight me?" Dumbledore demanding and years of being subservient to the creature surfaced in fury.

"You created all of this, Tom Riddle to fall and rise, Harry to be the saviour twice thanks to magic you were pumping into his grandparents," the creature retorted

"Oh really? I'm sure they were mostly your plans," Dumbledore pointed out and the creature nodded

"I created Harry Potter, gave him the power he needed and yet he defied both of us, ruined your plan to be hero worshipped and,"

"Our plan," Dumbledore affirmed

"I suppose Dumbledore but the point is this, we sought to control nature and nature fought back, a Dementor star child caused of all this to end. Our plan failed and you betrayed me and launched this ludicrous coup ," the creature answered

"It failed because of you, his power is your power and you made him, now here we are. The ministry hunting us, a failed coup means both of us will end and if have to go down you're coming too," Dumbledore hissed drawing his wand.

"There," a voice caused both of them to turn, the creature saw Harry and his friends, all of them and then he saw Dumbledore was no longer aiming at them, the creature owed a debt to Harry and swore never to meet him again,

"Well here it is," the creature sighed acceptingly before spinning around to intercept the green jet, his debt was repaid and the creature fell from the platform, a slow graceful thing and if the curse didn't kill Lily Potter's destroyed form then the fall would. So it fell secure in the knowledge it was done.

Harry

"No," the mouthed seeing the one link he had to his other self, his greatest enemy and greatest ally, the person he had helped and who had helped him, he saw the body of his mother fall to the floor.

"Stay here," Harry commanded, they had all moved away from Dumbledore's killing curse but now he needed to fight,

"We will," Draco agreed and then Harry nodded at his oldest friend, a silent goodbye was passed before Harry flew towards the upper platforms, Dumbledore was racing to the roof where he would be able to escape through flight. Harry wasn't going to let that happen

"You," a croak of a voice meant all of them looked

"She's alive," Cho realised rushing towards the deformed, maimed figure that smiled ever so slightly, a disgusting thing in many ways.

"Cho Chang, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle. Harry Potter's best and dearest friends," it greeted

"The ones you tried to kill," Draco interjected and the creature did nothing

"You are correct, but there is one among you who I did not try to kill, listen to me girl it's you he loves, you are the only one who can stop him now because we all know what he must do" it whispered with fading breath

"Who are you talking to?" Luna asked looking at Hermione and Cho, neither of them knew

"Why are we listening to it?" Draco asked very untrustworthy of this thing, who seemed fine by his emotions,

"Love can kill the monster," it breathed before the light behind Lilly Potter's eyes went dark for the last time as the monster inside her left the world of the living.

Meanwhile

"You can't run," Harry announced flying up the very top of the clock tower, it was shaking and ruined thanks to an explosion but he faced the old man who had controlled him right from the start.

"So Harry, it comes to this," the man sighed looking at him with regret and longing

"Indeed it does," Harry agreed as the old man grabbed his wand, Harry however had no intention of playing fair, he had seen someone die tonight and while he didn't have concrete feelings on the monster it had changed, helped him and now it died for him. So did the sorting hat and whoever else was victim to this man, so through his anger he gripped something inside him that he not used willingly for a long time. Then he allowed his Dementor form to begin taking over and Dumbledore took a step back in disgust and horror, as he changed words came to Harry.

_For Blood and Hate his heart remains closed _this had been fulfilled years ago when Harry rejected the blood purity ideals

_For Darkness for Light; evil never grows _ he had worked with both the light and the dark and had done things that changed him but never did he allow himself to become wholly evil and always he kept his inner self in check.

_For the end to met a truth must unveil _If not for the creature he would never have found Arianna who had stayed alive long enough to stop her brother

_With terrible loss and terrible betrayal _Arianna had been lost to Dumbledore who betrayed the figure, the two were linked.

_The darkness falls and recoils_ The last line of the prophecy vanished into Harry's head and knowing the creature fell it was part done but now was the moment of truth, he would have fight his inner self once Dumbledore was gone but now Harry did not face Dumbledore. Instead a thinner, skeletal version with darkened eyes, paler skin and a Dementor's mouth,

"_Let us end this," _said the embodiment of Harry's evil moving towards Dumbledore.


	54. Chapter 54

Raised By Darkness: Chapter 54

**Only one more chapter to go, thanks for reading **

**Apple**

"What the hell did she... it mean?" Draco asked looking at the three girls in obvious bewilderment, Hermione, Cho and Luna just looked at each other, equally unsure. They looked at the slumped form of Lily Potter,

"Love? Love can kill what?" Draco wondered hoping his friends held the answer,

"That," Crabbe answered for him gazing out of the window and Draco turned towards him, he was not a girl nor did the creature address him so how did he know. However he was pointing out of one of the huge holes in the wall to a figure hovering in midair.

"Oh God," Draco clicked what had happened,

"We should have known," Hermione cursed, of course Harry couldn't take on Dumbledore by himself, but his raw power could; so he did what he had done in years willingly. The shadow monster last year had been the result of a soul conflict but this was different, this was a powerful, unfeeling monster which was currently dodging spells from who he was facing.

"We did know, we just ignored it," Cho confirmed sighed realising Harry was at the moment a monster, then it clicked

"Love can kill the monster," Luna announced suddenly and everyone looked at her

"Well let's get us some love and stab Harry with it," Draco commented with a shake of his head, Luna glared at him followed by everyone else; including Crabbe and Goyle.

"Fine who loves him?" Draco asked looking at the three,

"Any takers?" he asked after a few long seconds of silence, the three girls were looking at each other,

"Who isn't the question Draco, the question is who does he love?" Hermione corrected in deep thought.

Meanwhile 

"What are you?" Dumbledore demanded through legions of spells, ignoring the fact people were watching this duel and seeing him attack a third year.

"_You are everything you made me," _was the slow eerie response as Harry glided in a circle around the old man

"I didn't make you," Dumbledore spat trying but failing to hit the boy with a curse, Harry inwardly just felt the soul inside him and allowed hunger to overtake him even more.

"_Oh you did and now I shall end you," _Harry hissed as the roof of the clock tower shattered under immense pressure brought on by a force Harry conjured and used it to throw the old man off it, normally he would have fallen and died but Dumbledore had his wand and managed to cushion himself seconds before the fall. He landed in a courtyard surrounded by students looking at him with a mixture of disbelief and anger, the old man however simply drew his wand and aimed at the sky

"_You cannot best me old man, you couldn't best my other self and you expect to beat me? A being of pure power and hunger?" _the noise was loud and where it came from was unclear, Harry's new Dementor mouth ruled out it being vocal but everyone could hear it.

_"I order you back?" _Harry hissed and Dementors flocked to stop him hurting the students, then the moment his voice hit them they froze, somehow compelled to obey.

"_Harry stop this," _Lucy pleaded trying to approach her son and help him, or stop him

"_I am not him mother, I am a product of your influence and the power this fool invested in Harry Potter, I am his true power," _the dark Harry spat and with a wave sent her away, Lucy was helpless as invisible force dragged her away.

"Harry stop this," Dumbledore demanded looking at Harry who was no hovering directly above him,

"_I am not Harry any more than you are the great Dumbledore, you are a cheat, coward and soon you will die," _Harry announce softly and the students around them suddenly fell to the floor. The most potent Dementors chill ate into them and positive emotions were being funnelled to Harry.

"_Avada Kedavra," _Dumbledore shot to kill but the green light was easily dodged by Harry who extended his hand, a dark shadow was eating into his flesh but Dumbledore did not focus on that. He focused on the jet of black lightning which smacked into him, he gritted his teeth and tried to make no noise of pain but was weakened and tossed to the floor.

"_Stupefy," _Dumbledore tried a surprise quick spell but Harry dodged it with ease and instead forced Dumbledore back down with mental pain, images of those he lost and betrayed and also images of his sister and what he had done.

_"Crucio," _Dumbledore cast a spell he assumed would weaken Harry and while the spell hit him it felt like nothing more than a tickle, instead Harry laughed.

"_Avada Kedav..." _Dumbledore tried one final time but was again hit with painful bolts of energy which knocked him to the floor. Harry tutted loudly and wondered how best to hurt this man

"_A fool's game old man, now you will watch as I devour your beloved students before taking you," _Harry announced in a kindly voice but suddenly all the students twitched, inside the true Harry felt their very life force and soul combined slowly rise only to be pumped towards him. He felt like he did when he tried to eat the troll, it was a good feeling but unlike that time he was unable to stop it, he realised then that there was no way for him to stop these people dying.

"Harry?" the voice of minister Fudge turned him round but by then he was changing, already a dark colour was spreading from his eyes around his face, his nails were growing sharper and his body was becoming more twisted. Fudge and Umbridge then fell, he felt their souls being added to the mixture, the aurors followed suit and the process would take minutes at most.

Hermione 

Was it her? She had known Harry longest from the day he went to Diagon Alley, she had followed him to the very end and always would. She trusted him and she hoped he trusted her, so as they ran through the corridors of Hogwarts following the dark feelings leading them towards a new Harry, Hermione wondered if he loved her? She loved him and she supposed everyone did in their own way but was she the one he loved back and how did she know someone actually did. How did she know if the monster was lying to them or not but one thing she knew, she had to stop Harry.

"

Oh no," Cho gasped suddenly seeing out the window, the courtyard in question was not far off and they could see what was happening.

"He's eating them," Goyle looked taken aback and swore, the entire castle it seemed was now defeated, they could see Dumbledore's men on the floor next to aurors who had separated from the others to fight individuals but this meant nothing to Harry's dark self. He was going to eat them anyway, it wasn't affecting them yet but Hermione felt something slowly being broken within and realised sooner or later she and the others would fall to.

"Come on," Draco called and Hermione knew he had worked the same out.

Courtyard 

"Stop this," Dumbledore demanded rising to his feet, only to be blasted back down again, he did care for his students in some way but his motives did not matter anymore.

"_Never!" _Harry cackled with his eyes turning a glowing black and his hair shrinking to make him more like a Dementor, his hands were now skeletal and clawed but no matter his appearance he was growing stronger.

"_Now_ _for you," _Harry decided and all the air was sucked out of Dumbledore's lungs, he felt even weaker and collapsed clutching his chest, he was shaking and his thoughts were dimming as he joined the mixture of people being devoured.

Cho

She and Harry had always been best friends, always been close and Cho liked him to a large extent, but she never asked or tried anything. She didn't want to ruin their friendship if he said no or it didn't work out, she however had been by his side most of the time and cared a lot about him, regardless of her suspicions she accepted who he was working with and was only annoyed he didn't tell her. When Harry had shown himself to be a Dementor she defended him and told Hermione that everyone had secrets, so was this how it came out? Was she the one the creature demanded save him? She was going to try nevertheless.

Harry

Inside I was desperate, feeling my dark self take over was euphoric but it was like being a side passenger, I could see and feel what my dark self was doing and while I needed to beat Dumbledore seeing the people I went to school with dying made me feel guilty. Even more so that I was relishing every second of devouring them while hating the fact I did, the feeling was just so good and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Luna

She was the fun one, the one who would do strange things and say sometimes true things. Luna had a strange barrage of emotions towards everyone and they got even more complex when it came to Harry. He had accepted her from the first day they met despite her hugging Lucy, he had helped her and taken her seriously while many did not. Harry was someone she relied on to be a friend and he relied on her to be there, to be the fun one who surprised him each and every time. But was this the foundation of love? She didn't know.

The courtyard 

"Harry!" Draco announced tally and proudly as the six arrived to face him, slowly but surely he turned and they recoiled. Harry was turning even more Dementor with now rotting black skin and hardly any face left, his noise a sunken mess and slowly closing up eyes.

"_Ahh the great friends of Harry Potter, those I have endured for long enough," _Harry hissed in a cruel unfeeling voice as he studied them, he sensed their protection but it was he who gave it to them and with a blink it was gone.

"Come on," Draco ordered moving towards Harry but he was the first to go and Harry did not interfere, he watched simply as the boy fell and hit the ground. Crabbe and Goyle followed suit and the three girls were left.

"Luna," Hermione called for the second year when it became apparent the girl had fallen too and Hermione's lapse of emotion led to her being next,

"_So it comes down to you miss Chang?" _Harry asked with a slight chuckle but she only managed a few steps before she fell, inside Harry just froze up, lost at the loss of his friends and he knew his inner self was loving this. Not that his inner self was inner any more, the roles had been reversed.

Cho

"_Only love can kill the monster," _the creature's voice danced in her weakened mind as an almost fully Dementor Harry took over, she looked up with bleary ears to see him not far away from her. She forced her hands to prop her up and she saw Harry gliding in the air. She was slightly thankful that he was slightly shorter than her because she was in her fourth year, so when she lunged towards him and grappled to her feet she was able to force him round and kiss him, the gaping hole that was his mouth pulled on her throat. So it was me, she thought as she felt flesh and lips return to Harry's face.

Harry

_The Darkness Falls and recoils, _indeed with Cho's surge of emotion Harry was propelled by power and it quickly outmatched his inner self. The one who was now recoiling and suddenly he felt it resist but love was the thing that met its match and in a rush of power he released all those who had been his victim and felt himself return t his body. He opened his eyes to see Cho looking at him but then with a single blink she collapsed and broke the kill, had she willingly been given the Dementors kiss? Harry was lost and only when he looked up to see everyone around him did he speak.

"Help," he begged before collapsing with her and darkness overcame his vision.


	55. Chapter 55

Raised By Darkness Chapter 55

Harry awoke to the sight of white walls and a stone ceiling looking down at him from his bed in the hospital wing, a window was smashed but the debris had been swept away and despite a slight feeling of cold Harry felt fine. Until the moment he remembered exactly what had happened, he had done terrible things and had killed,

"_You didn't kill anyone," _A calming motherly voice made him twist his head left to find Lucy hovering a few feet of the ground

"I thought you were going to stop reading my mind," Harry despite everything smiled

"_A mother knows when she needs to," _Lucy replied laying a clawed scabbed hand on Harry's shoulder as he took a long breath.

"_You know it's not your fault," _Lucy assured him realising Harry felt bad about the entire event, he looked up at her with a weak smile

"Oh it is, I let my inner self take over completely to stop Dumbledore, I wasn't thinking about what would happen after," Harry confessed remembering his hurt emotions once the creature had died. Emotions looking back he understood but had no idea why he felt them

"_You were hurt, your mother was alive and she was killed by Dumbledore," _Lucy corrected and Harry smiled but shook his head

"That wasn't my mother, you are but Lily Potter died thirteen years ago. That was raw power animating her corpse, a being created to resist the killing curse and nothing more, it didn't work that way," Harry smirked thinking of it.

"_I don't understand," _Lucy sounded completely confused

"Don't worry it took three years for us to work it out, tell me there alive," Harry begged remembering seeing Draco fall followed by Crabbe, Goyle, Luna and then Hermione before eventually Cho.

"_All of them are, Draco has been in the press a lot explaining things. He told us about some kind of monster that was inside you and it took over, a lot of people aren't happy with you," _Lucy pointed out sounding slightly awkward. Harry nodded; he had not expected much else seeing as he had almost murdered every single student along with the minister.

"_Oh he's on your side, though he has come clean about him allowing you to live in Azkaban, people were guessing anyway but he confirmed it," _Lucy explained and Harry frowned at her.

"Again I thought you were going to get out of my mind," he commented and she just shook her head

"_Not when you need it," _Lucy declared wrapping Harry in a laying down hug which felt reassuring.

"What happened to Dumbledore?" Harry wondered aloud suddenly remembering the man had tried to kill him,

"_Under arrest, for crimes of conspiracy and the murder of Lily Potter, your friends told everyone that you had all been investigating her journal which is untranslatable but the brief snippets suggests she had angered a powerful person. A lot of investigation and now we know about James Potter people believe it, I did until you told me it wasn't true," _Lucy answered and Harry sighed.

"Well that's one lie I think I might have to work with," he whispered

"_I would," _Lucy commented and Harry looked up at her once more,

"So what happened to everyone else?" he asked hoping he had no induced comas or lasting damage

"_They woke up, feeling weak but recovered; Dumbledore's men surrendered when they thought it was a spell cast by the ministry, Arthur and Molly Weasley, Kingsley Shackebolt and another was arrested and another was found dead, they were killed by Lily Potter according to eyewitnesses," _Lucy elaborated and Harry nodded, it looked like they would be facing justice soon enough.

"_Oh they will," _Lucy confirmed

"Where's Cho?" Harry inquired suddenly getting a clear image of what had transpired

"Over there," Lucy answered grimly and she pointed to a lone bed Harry had missed, Cho was lying there seemingly asleep, Harry moved to get up.

"_No you have been out for a week, so has she," _Lucy warned pushing him back down to the bed

"I kissed her," Harry realised

"_I think she kissed you," _Lucy chuckled but then she realised what Harry had actually meant,

"_No you haven't, she has a soul but her life force was drained a lot when she kissed you and it will take time to recover," _she informed him gently

"How long?" Harry asked

"_We don't know, nothing in this world can take a life force like that so it's impossible to predict. She's alive Harry and she saved you along with everyone else," _Lucy reminded him but Harry felt a twinge of guilt as he studied her. He had loved her for a long time he supposed he just never realised it, Draco had seen it and made a few comments on it but Harry never had, it was attitude and just her. He couldn't place it and he really hoped Lucy wasn't listening to these thoughts

"_Sleep now, you need rest," _Lucy told him firmly and Harry closed his eyes thinking he would never get to sleep and yet in seconds he was out like a light.

The next day

Cho still had not woken up and Harry ad been by her bedside, Madam Pomfrey had been in and out checking on the pair of them but Harry felt drawn to her. He had done this by his choice of stupidity

"You know staring at someone while guilty really isn't going to help," a voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he turned to see Bellatrix laid out on the bed.

"How did you?" Harry began but then remembered what her animal form was , he nodded before she could comment on his words

"How you holding up?" Bella asked

"Not good," Harry answered truthfully, he had not been allowed to see anyone except Madam Pomfrey and Lucy but she was busy today and he could do with someone to talk to.

"What's wrong?" she asked looking concerned and Harry looked up

"I nearly killed everyone in this school," was the answer and Bella smiled,

"Really did you? I thought that was the monster inside you," she answered and Harry wondered just how many of his secrets his friends had revealed to get him off the hook.

"Oh we all know, anyway why do you feel bad? You didn't do it," Bella demanded looking indignant

"I did, I let it take over and it's part of me, I felt good as it devoured them," Harry argued wondering why she was talking about this to him. Surely she wouldn't understand

"Harry you'd be surprised what wrong things can make you feel good, don't repeat that but it's natural I think, Dementors like souls your part one you like souls," she told him with a click of her tongue as if he was being silly.

"You don't get it," Harry accused sitting down on a chair, he did not like spending all day in bed and only got in when he was made to.

"Oh really? Harry I've done things, terrible things and were they my fault? Yes," she began and Harry was slightly surprised by her open confession.

"I wasn't being forced to and I still did them, I had intent back then and you don't, you didn't want to and you didn't do it, it's not your fault," she continued and Harry knew what she had done. It was not a good time in her past and he gathered she was still on the run

"But I had a choice,"

"Yeah fight a powerful wizard with a lot of power and win or fight him without power and lose, there it is, honestly you made the right call," Bella decided firmly jumping up.

"How can you say that," Harry asked looking at Cho

"Because if you hadn't Dumbledore would now be minister and thing would much worse, you saved a lot of people and you only hurt one,"

"Only one?" Harry scorned

"Ok one who matter s a lot but this is the thing, our actions are our own and taking responsiblty for the actions of others is wrong, if you willingly tried to kill them then we would be having this conversation but thanks to Cho you got the chance to stop it and you took it, proving that it was not you doing it," Bella almost shouted getting slightly irritated by this and for a second Harry was at lost for words. She had a point but it didn't stop him feeling guilty.

"Think it over," Bella began but the sound of footsteps forced her to turn into a raven and fly away.

Two days later

"Harry," Hermione's voice surprised him and Harry looked up from the bed he was being made to lie in to see his bushy haired friend pelting towards him. He had been worried about her, she had been Cho's best friend but instead of anger or negative reactions he was surprised to find her hug him deeply.

"I think that's Cho's job now, when she wakes up," Draco grinned walking into the hospital wing and nodded at Cho's sleeping form, somehow he could cast light to almost any situation.

"Hilarious," Hermione commented and for a moment it seemed like nothing had changed,

"Harry," Draco greeted shaking his friends hand and was followed by Crabbe and Goyle before Luna pulled him into another hug.

"How you doing?" Draco inquired

"Fine," Harry answered, he was feeling slightly better after his conversation with Bella,

"Good to hear it, it took us far too long to see you apparently we would be a negative influence, I told Madam Pompfrey that he is part Dementor so thrives of negative emotions and..."

"She locked us out for another two days," Hermione finished looking at Draco who sheepishly nodded

"Details, details," was his argument

"So not much has changed," Harry guessed

"Well other than you and Cho not being around no, which is a big change if you think about it," Luna muttered in deep thought, Draco looked worried as normally her thinking sessions ending in him being hurt in some way.

"So when they letting you out of here?" Crabbe asked changing the subject

"No idea, when they want to," Harry answered and for the last few days he had felt like there was another reason behind it.

"When they bloody decide," Goyle muttered and he suddenly got a sharp look from Draco

"What do you mean?" Harry asked knowing Draco did not act serious unless he had to

"Well there have been some people who want you arrested for what you've done, luckily not many now because our own Hermione Granger came up with the most ingenious story ever," Draco explained and Hermione flushed a deep red.

"Really?" Harry asked feeling slightly proud

"Well..." Hermione tried to shake it off

"Nonsense, she managed to exclude the bits about you working with say lethal monsters and include the hero bits, the downside is everyone knows your part Dementor but here we are, the minister is stopping people bringing charges against you as is my father. Most are on your side because you saved their kids and a few might not be but again here we are," Draco explained beaming at Hermione.

"And I told them about the woozles," Luna announced

"Yes Luna told the daily prophet the honey trade was controlled by woozles and there is some consideration going on it which is worrying, but the papers aren't known for their genius," Draco shrugged.

"They are doing a story on it," Luna confirmed and Harry wondered how Hermione was keeping a straight face

"So do we know when..." Draco began suddenly after a moment of awkward silence

"No, no idea," Harry sighed

"Well they better hurry up, everyone in the castle owes her their life seeing as she kissed you, which is weird enough but she did it on something dark and menacing which was being taken over by a Dementor," Draco joked and Hermione punched him on the arm.

"Oww," Draco sighed but did not joke further.

"Ok shoo you lot," Madam Pomfrey decided entering the room

"Ok, Harry by the way it's a week till Christmas so see at the manor," Draco shouted at him as they walked and with the group doing a nod of respect to Cho they left the room. Leaving Harry alone with his thoughts.

The next day

Harry was pacing up and down the hospital wing, he was bored and had been hoping for a visitor and spending a lot of time hoping Cho would wake up. Lucy had been to visit in the morning but for now that was it, then he saw Cho's hand flinch.

"Cho?" Harry rushed to her bedside wondering if there was a chance she would wake up,

"Harry," he heard her whisper ever so slightly and with his heart in his throat he waited for something to happen, he wanted to tell her he was sorry ,how thankful he was to her but then she muttered something else slightly quieter.

So he leaned closer, something that gave Cho enough time to jump up and kiss him.

"Cho," Harry gasped wondering how long she had been awake but had not time to say anything as they embraced

"Sorry had to do without the wake up conversation," she whispered into his ear before pulling him into a passionate embrace.

"Thank you," Harry muttered referring to a number of things at once, however he got no reply and the couple enjoyed the moment for a second. Before they were joined by Madam Pompfrey who quickly ushered them apart.

Later

"So when did you know?" Harry asked Cho who looked up from her dinner; she hadn't eaten in nearly two weeks so she was justified in scoffing her food down.

"I don't know, I just did, I realised that we had been really close, not like best friends close like me and Hermione are but we were always there for each other. Also you don't make annoying comments," she smiled and Harry chuckled with her.

"So what about you, what happened once I kissed you?" Cho asked

"I felt a surge of emotion and beat my inner self down to size, you saved me," Harry told her solemnly

"Wow so the girl without the power beats the boy with the Dementor power, it says a lot about our relationship doesn't it," she grinned cheekily.

"We have a relationship then," Harry smiled and she clapped loudly three times in a sarcastic way reminding Harry of Draco attitude to life mostly.

"No we just kissed then and I saved you for no reason and there's nothing between us at all! Of course we have one," she barked with some disbelief

"Ok," Harry beamed holding his hands up in mock surrender

"See what I mean, even with the power I'm the dominant one," she remarked with a knowing wink and left Harry speechless for some time, mostly because she was laughing at his reaction for a while.

Malfoy Manor

It had come out, people knew what he was and this time there were more people a little bit unhappy with his presence at the party, some were more than happy while others stayed silent.

"Harry," Fudge called him over "Merry Christmas,"

"Merry Christmas," Harry responded politely

"Well this year you couldn't get through a whole term without deposing Dumbledore, ending a conspiracy and telling the world about your Dementor powers," Fudge chuckled and Harry wondered if his good mood was being fuelled by the drinks Lucius had provided.

"I like to keep things fresh," Harry assured him and the man laughed heartily

"Indeed you do, well I just wanted to thank you on behalf of myself and many of the Wizengamot who nearly lost children to Dumbledore, also pass my thanks on to your friends who played a huge role no doubt. Also just between me and you these people who want to expel or imprison you aren't actually powerful enough to get things done," Fudge told him lowly which was some relief to Harry. The trials of Molly and Arthur had led to people wanting Harry charged with attempted murder and Dumbledore who was imprisoned for life without a wand in a magic proof cell just opposite James Potter was telling people Harry was some kind of monster. Not that Harry ever went down there

"Imprisoning me would be quite hard," Harry joked

"Indeed my boy , now I dare say I have a party to attend as do you, talk to you soon," Fudge nodded once before leaving Harry who had spotted his friends meeting up in the usual place.

"Hand?" Cho half offered half ordered appearing behind him

"You know I'm pretty sure a relationship doesn't just mean I do what you say," Harry commented as Lucius walked behind him

"You have much to learn young man," the eldest Malfoy chortled before walking away, Lucius had seemed unmoved full stop by what had happened and had only been angry at Dumbledore.

"See," Cho grinned taking his hand and the two of them walked side by side

"Oh here they come," Draco announced holding a bottle of butterbeer

"Poison free," he declared immediately before anyone could comment, and handed out glasses everyone did drip some on the grass to make sure it was free of smoke.

"A toast?" Harry suggested and Draco nodded,

"I'll start, to Hermione Granger for the most brilliant plan in the world, two including the chess pieces," he began and Hermione carried it on.

"To Luna Lovegood who opens our minds to new ideas every day and has caused a magical inspection of the honey trade," Hermione smiled, the news had come as a shock to all of them.

"To Vincent Crabbe for knocking Dumbledore out with a claw, something that needs to go down in history," Luna announced holding up her glass.

"To Gregory Goyle for not eating Draco and also being a constant source of helpful knowledge,"

"To Cho for managing to kiss Harry and save us all," Goyle continued and Harry wondered if that was an insult in any way.

"To my boyfriend Harry for everything he's done, from the troll to here," she smiled before lightly pecking him on the cheek

"Can I just toast everyone except them to for not doing that lovey dovey stuff?" Draco asked aloud and was ignored.

"To Draco Malfoy for being a constant source of entertainment and a way to vent anger for the last three years," Harry ended holding up his class, after they chinked their glasses together each of the seven took a long drink.

"And to the future," Draco muttered because he hadn't finished the bottle of drink and as they all drank again Harry smiled as he looked back on all they had accomplished, from defeating a dark lord to bringing down Dumbledore; they had done the impossible and the ride and each member of the group had been nothing short of fantastic.

**So here we are, fifty five chapters in and this is the end. A long story with various themes that has after almost a year reached the end of it's life, I hope you all enjoyed it. I'm not sure if I should do a sequel or not I want to thank everyone for reading and giving their support throughout the story. **

**Apple**


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